Demon's Curse
by DeExil
Summary: Freedom has a price; he knew that and was ready to give it all for his freedom. What he didn't expect was for the price of his freedom to bite him back in the end.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Freedom has a price; he knew that and was ready to give it all for his freedom. What he didn't expect was for the price of his freedom to bite him back in the end.

**Pairing: **Naruto x Mirajane

**Note: **This…is a challenge type of fic, I am more accommodated to the FT world and wanted to please the readers that wanted a Mira pairing in my other story. I'm also writing this new story as a way to test myself against my fellow author – namely Grumpywinter. His story will be posted as well today, or tomorrow.

Please take note, this is a different Naruto, he is already 15 when the story starts. He will not be a fire mage but something else (this will be a secret), he will meet the FT gang after the Phantom Lord arc and during the Tower arc. How? You will see. Until then there will be a lot of background and character development for this Naruto. I hope you will enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 1**

In a dim lit room stood a young boy, papers and scrolls were littered all around him as he kept on scribbling on his notebook. He stopped for a second as he thought he heard something, he scanned the area around him yet he could see nothing nor sense anyone. Slowly he turned his attention back to the notebook and sneered as he cut-off what he wrote up until now. Lines and lines of seals and notes about each seal.

The boy sighed as he looked around trying to figure out something else, he grabbed a nearby scroll that he 'borrowed' from the higher ups. They wouldn't have let him get his hands on this no matter what, it held secrets that if discovered would either bring peace to a soul or devastation to those around them.

A complicated seal is what people described it, something that only a genius like its inventor could understand and something that only his offspring would be able to crack. Yet his legacy died a long time ago, so people say. The boy learned not to trust them eventually, the world around him was shrouded in lies and mystery. Mystery itself wasn't bad, he enjoyed solving it, but the lies…he despised it.

From birth he had been lied to, with no one to look after him he grew up by himself, taking care of himself and trying to grow as a model citizen. Yet he soon came to understand that those around him would never view him as more than trash or an abomination, he learned that trying to be a simple citizen would not work.

It took a lot of convincing and a lot of pleas to get enrolled in the academy, to become one of the military's backbone in both the economy of the village and its military defense. It disgusted him as he learned the he was supposed to lie his way through with every action he took, with every step he took. Everything about him, about his comrades and about the army in general was a big lie.

They were puppets to those with power, they did as they were told and they lied as they were told. They kept him especially on a short leash, learn only what they give you, ask only what they allow you to ask, never talk unless they say so. The others…they had more freedom, they were different, special in their eyes, unlike him.

Each and every one of them came from families that either had great influence over the higher powers, held the power in their hands themselves or were just better than him. They had training from young age, they had the means to learn faster then him, they knew more then he would ever know.

There was only one person that looked after him, and he died a long time ago. They said in was an assassination, hence why they went to war against two nations. To him, it was just desire for blood to be shed, to him, it seemed like the only thing they wanted was to be on top, to show the world that they are the best. He however didn't care for petty things like that, he wanted to be free and to attain that freedom he needed to get rid of that which gave him infinite power.

After his 'guardians' funeral he learned the truth, what kept him ticking and what made him special. But at the same time, he learned from where all the anger came, why he had no parents and why no one cared for him.

His mentor, his teacher – the one that later on became his squad leader – he was supposed to be his relative, maybe not by blood, but it was stated so. Yet the man turned a blind eye when it came to him, he despised his very existence as if he had taken the most precious thing from him.

The truth was more horrible than that however, the man did not hate him for what he was, he hated his birthmother and in turn hated him, the human being. It brought a small, albeit sad, smile to the boy's face, at least someone hated him for being human. He scowled however, the man was a pitiful excuse for human, taking up space and breathing the air around him, wasting it on nothing.

He did as he was told and kept his mouth shut however, he didn't go against his will or his orders. But there were times when he wanted to do the right thing, to gut him, to feed him to the demons and let his soul be dragged into Oblivion. But…he didn't do that, he wouldn't do that, unlike them he was a human being, he had a heart.

The boy shook his head as he put out the candle and stood in silence. Footsteps echoed outside the room, in the rain.

"Did you hear about B-Company?" the voice asked, the boy didn't bother trying to figure out who it was that asked the question, there were a lot of military personnel in this ravaged city.

The city itself belonged to one of the other great nations, he didn't bother to find out which, he was never told anyway. They only told him to go to a place, kill off all resistance and hold his ground until the rest of the detachment arrived. He shivered as he remembered what they did once they arrived here, he made sure to do as he was told, they told him to keep the civilians alive and not let them leave.

He thought they would spare them, offer them a new home, protection…instead they murdered them. He watched helplessly as they killed off every one of them, as if they were animals. Young, old, it didn't matter, they all had to die…or so they said. They cursed him, they cursed him and called him a demon, a monster, for letting all that happened. He felt sick, he wanted to leave this place, he wanted to be free.

"Yea, I heard their demon massacred the entire company." The other replied, the boy heard them come to a stop right next to the window of the house he was hiding in. He looked at the collar around his neck and snarled, the device told the leader of the company he was part of if he left without telling anyone, if he ran away.

"We should send ours to battle it, maybe they will kill each other off." The first one stated and began laughing, his comrade joined him. The boy grit his teeth as he felt his eyes watering.

"True, but we still have a use for it." He replied as silence soon followed.

The boy stood, waiting for them to leave so he could resume his work. He knew they were outside, he could feel their energy. "Yea, we can kill it in the end, the Hokage has a special jutsu." The boy's head snapped up as his eyes widened in fright.

"Yea, heard it cost him quite a fortune to find that scroll, apparently it was created by the Sage to kill off demons for good." The other one stated cheerfully as the boy shivered and lowered his head.

"You two!" someone shouted as he heard the men outside scramble, probably going into a salute pose.

"Sir!" they shouted as the officer walked towards them, the boy didn't look up, from the voice he knew who it was.

"What are you doing here? Get back to your posts!" he yelled as the men began running away. The boy began to pray, hoping the officer wouldn't look in the window, that he wouldn't try to see if there was anyone in here.

He heard the man approaching and he began to shiver, the officer had enough power to make him feel pain, to make him unable to move for days if possible. The man suddenly stopped, he looked around and then left, the boy sighed in relief, that was too close for his own good.

Carefully, he leaned towards the candle and lit it back up, illuminating the area around him. He looked down on the scrolls once more and continued reading, scribbling and thinking. He had to succeed, he had to get this done today, there was no tomorrow, he would never get another chance like this.

He hated everything about this world, there was nothing here for him. Those that actually loved him are dead, those that said they believed in him that they cared for him left him in the end, betrayed him. This world was forsaken by God, left to handle itself and left to go on without His guidance. There was no reason for him to stay here and suffer at the hands of _those men_.

Time passed, the night slowly turned into day, the boy was getting more and more nervous. He then felt a tug from his collar, he was being summoned by the commander of the detachment, there was no more time to waste. The jutsu might be incomplete but if he was right then the tribute he would be offering to the Death God should suffice, it should be enough to let him ask the God to be sent in another world, somewhere he could actually live like a normal human being.

The boy looked out the window, he could see the sun raising and he could hear the chatter outside, people were waking up. He stood up in the pentagram and began flashing through handseals, his eyes following the scrolls as they slowly burned with each seal he made. It was a one way trip, it was a way to make sure no one would follow him, that he would be free for good.

As he reached the last seal the door was flung open, the windows shattered and ninja's appeared in the room, circling the boy. "Uzumaki!" the commander yelled in fury. The boy looked up with a glare and whispered one final word before flames consumed.

"Burn in Hell." The ninja's covered their eyes as the flames consumed the blond boy, they jumped back as the circle seemed to spew more and more fire. They ran out as a demonic laughter resonated throughout the house, the laughter echoing throughout the world. A God was pleased with today's sacrifice.

Yet, a demon was not. The mighty demon, sealed within the boy since his birth raged as the hands of Death reached out towards it. It glared towards its host, cursing him, yet the boy was unfazed, he smiled, he laughed and he taunted. Finally he was going to be free, finally his torment would end.

The fox however did not agree with that. **"You fool! You believe I will let you win?"** it roared as the boy continued laughing and cheering, something he hadn't done since he was a young lad. **"I curse you Uzumaki! I curse you!"** the demon shouted, he will not be defeated like this, he will make sure that the accursed boy would forever remember him, that he would forever be scarred for what he had done.

"**You will regret this even after you die!"** it shouted, the boy however looked up at it with a serene smile as his laughter died down.

"No fox…I will not regret this, I will never regret my decision. My father cursed me, I lifted my curse and left for new lands." He said as he looked up towards the hand of the Death God. "I paid the price, ten fold, I deserve happiness."

"**You will get nothing!"** the demon shouted as its tails lashed out, they ripped through the seal and moved towards the boy whose serene face turned into a look of horror. He tried to turn and run but the tails were faster. They grabbed him and threw him to the ground, he screamed as the fox began laughing for its victory.

"**I will make sure…you remember me."** It whispered as its power began flowing through its tails. **"I will make sure that the people of the world you are going in will hate you!"** it roared as the blond screamed in pain.

The boy felt like his flesh was being torn from inside out, he howled as he felt like his head would explode. **"I will make you feared!"** the fox roared before all its power surged through the boy's body rendering him unconscious.

The fox slowly took its tails away and began laughing, slowly each tail began to vanish and despite the pain it was feeling from death it still laughed, it still grinned. In the end, it had won.

"**I curse you boy…"** its voice echoed as it vanished from the seal **"…I curse you for all eternity."**

**xXx**

The boy grumbled as he felt the familiar smell of antiseptics invade his nostrils. He inwardly groaned and cried thinking his jutsu had failed, slowly however he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital room, but, he was sure this wasn't one of the make-shift emergency rooms from the battlefield or Konoha's hospital. The machinery here was different, very different. To him it looked much more advanced then what they had back home.

The door suddenly slid open drawing his attention; he tensed as he saw a young woman enter the room. The woman looked at the blond and her face turned into a big smile, something that caught the boy off guard. "You're awake!" he said with glee evident in her voice, like he had been asleep for years. "The doctor was afraid you'd never wake up." She continued as she hurried over to his side and began checking him.

Naruto didn't know what to make of this, everything was beyond what he had expected as a reaction from a nurse. She seemed happy that he was awake, back home they would have wanted him to never wake up, they would have wanted him to sleep for all eternity. "How long…was I gone?" he asked with a ruff voice, the nurse looked towards him and frowned a little.

"You were out cold for about three weeks…" she said as she shook her head and took the clipboard from the bed. "…I have no idea how you survived in that freezing water." She continued making the blond raise an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked as the nurse looked at him and then back at the clipboard. She wrote something on it and then took a seat next to the blond's bed. She looked at him with a small smile as she began to explain.

"The commander of the Royal Guard found you floating in the river next to his home, up in the mountains." She explained, at the word 'commander' the blond held his breath a little, but as he heard the term 'Royal Guard' he pondered, this was a new term to him and he was more than sure no one in the elemental countries ever had something like that. "Something wrong?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

The blond slowly shook his head, his training coming back to him; he didn't need the woman to suspect something. The nurse looked at him for a few more seconds before lifting the clipboard. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I'd like to ask you some questions." She stated as the blond nodded.

"First thing, what is your name?" she inquired as the blond pondered if he should use a fake name or if he should give her his real name. After all, if the jutsu was a success then he was in another world now.

After thinking for a few seconds the blond looked towards her and replied. "Uzumaki Naruto." He stated as the woman smiled and nodded, she began writing down his name on the clipboard.

"Date of birth?" she asked as the blond pondered over the question one more time. Instead of answering the question he decided to find out where he was, to get some idea before giving away a time that would seem too strange.

"Where am I?" he asked slowly, looking out the window.

The nurse frowned a bit as she looked at the window and then back at the boy. "You are in Fiore Naruto-san." She replied. "In the town of Tatcha at the base of Mount Juma."

The blond nodded slowly as he looked back at the nurse, he had never heard of the town, the country or the mountain. "Now, if you could tell me your date of birth…" she said as the blond looked around with the corner of his eyes, trying to find a calendar or something to see the current date. Yet he couldn't see anything, he decided to improvise.

"I … don't know …" he replied, his voice low as he looked down at the sheets. "I only know my birthday is on October 10th." He stated as the woman frowned slightly.

"Alright, lets try this then, how old are you?" she asked as the blond immediately replied, telling her that he was fifteen years old. "Place of birth?" she then asked as the blond stood silent and looked back down at the sheets in deep thought.

The boy sighed as he looked out the window, still in deep thought. The woman shook her head "Oh my…" she said silently "…amnesia." The blond inwardly smirked, maybe the army did thought him something, maybe they weren't that bad – at least when it came to his own survival.

"Relatives?" she asked hoping for something, yet the blond looked down sadly and shook his head.

"Not that I know of…grandfather died a long time ago, never met my mom or dad." He replied as the woman nodded sadly. With a sigh she stood up and looked at him.

"If you need anything push that button there…" she told him pointing towards a strange circle like device in the wall. The blond nodded dumbly as the woman giggled a little, she turned around and walked out of the room, probably to find the doctor.

This gave the blond time to think, it was too soon to decide if he was really in another world, he could have been sent to the other continents, beyond the Veil. But he couldn't know for sure…yet. If he was beyond the Veil he was safe, he was more than sure about that. No one, not even the great Sage could leave the islands, he couldn't traverse the Veil.

But, he felt like he wasn't in his world, not even beyond the Veil, if there was one thing certain that was the fact that the Death God never goes against His word. If you strike a deal with Him and pay accordingly he will keep His end of the bargain. A small smile appeared on his face, it seemed like things were looking up to him now, it seemed like everything was going accordingly to plan.

Carefully, he brought his hands out from under the covers and looked at them, he looked at all the scars he had and frowned a bit. Signs that he wielded a weapon, signs that he did hard labor. While hard labor would prove good in this world to start over, from scratch, if people would know the truth they would ask questions and he didn't know what to tell them, he had no story. Or at least not one that was plausible in his mind.

He was cut out of his musings as the door suddenly slid open, he calmly let his hands drop on the covers and looked at the door. An old man with white coat entered followed by a man in a strange metal armor. The blond knew that the first one was the doctor, the second, he had no idea who he was. He studied the man with great interest, the armor was that of a knight from stories he read when he was little, the design of a wolves head was present on the chest. He was carrying his helmet in his arms.

The blond looked at the man's face, he wasn't old, nor young, a man in his forties if he was right. Brown eyes, black hair and a 5 o'clock shave. There was one distinctive characteristic above the knight and that was the scar over his right eye and the fact that his right eye didn't seem…natural. To the blond it seemed like a fake, he wondered if he could see with that eye.

"Mister Uzumaki…" the doctor started drawing the blond's attention. "My name is Yusuke Abunaga, doctor of St. Klaus Hospital." He stated as the blond listened carefully. "The man next to me is Knight-Commander Ronda, the man that found you." The blond looked towards Ronda who bowed slightly, a sign of respect? Or his way to say hello? That he didn't know.

"It's…nice to meet you." The blond replied as the doctor smiled slightly and walked next to the blond's bed, the knight followed suit stopping at the end of the bed, his eyes constantly locked with the blond's form as if the blond would try anything.

"The nurse gave me the clipboard, she says you might have amnesia…" he stated slowly as if not believing a word. "…tell me, are you a mage?" he asked as the blond looked at him like he was stupid.

"Mage? What is that?" he asked genuinely curious, the man looked up in shock before shaking his head and then looking down at the clipboard again.

"Hmm…yes…" he mumbled to himself yet he did not reply to the question. "What year are we in?" he inquired further as the blond blinked. He didn't give the boy time to reply as he turned back to scribbling on the clipboard and mumbling to himself.

"Well doctor?" the knight asked in a ruff voice as the man scratched his chin mumbling to himself, it reminded the blond of some sort of man doctor, at least the way he was acting did.

"Unfortunately we do not have any equipment here to scan him, nor do we have mages in our staff. So for now I will go with _amnesia_." The doctor stated stressing the word out as if not believing the blond and thinking that he was bluffing everything.

The knight however didn't seem fazed to the underlined meaning of the word and looked towards the blond with interest. He told the doctor he wished to speak with the boy alone, the doctor left not having a choice in the matter, there was no way he was going to say no to the Knight-Commander.

As the doctor left the room the knight turned his attention back to the blond, he walked closer and took a seat next to the bed. Naruto gulped a little not knowing what the man would do.

"I believe…" he started as he pulled out his sword, this made the blond's eyes narrow, his eyes then widened as he recognized the sword. "…this is yours…" the man finished holding up the dent Katana. The blond fidgeted a little as the knight placed the sword on the ground and turned his attention back to the blond.

"When I found you, you were wearing a slave collar." He stated as the blond looked up in wonder, how did the man know what it was? "Or so we believe…care to clarify?" he inquired as the blond looked away, trying to make it look like he didn't remember or know.

The man sighed as he stood up. "You have two choices, come clean and tell us your story…or we assume you are a dark mage and we lock you up…" he then turned around and began walking towards the door.

Naruto didn't know what to do now, he didn't know what a dark mage was but from the fact that the knight said they would lock him up it could only mean that they were something like bandits or thieves…or worse.

He looked up and just as the knight was about to open the door and leave the boy called out for him. "Wait!" the knight halted, a smile appeared on his lips, he turned around and his smile dropped his face turning into a passive expression once more. "I...yes…that is a slave collar…" he replied with his head downcast, he didn't know what they would do now that he told them that.

It wasn't quite the truth, it wasn't a slave collar, more like an obedience collar, something to make sure that if he ran away they would be able to weaken him and stop him in his tracks before he could get too far away.

"You don't need to worry." The commanders voice was soft, the blond's head snapped up as he looked towards the man "Slavery is banned in Fiore, you will not be sent back to the one that _owned _you." The man spat out as if it would burn him by just saying that word. "If you can however tell us the name of the one that did this to you…we will make sure he is sent behind bars."

The blond felt his heart skip a beat, he felt his eyes watering because of the sudden information, it made him happy knowing this, for a second he was afraid that he would be held by a leash in this world as well just because he had been held by one in the previous world.

He thanked the commander and at the same time apologized, he couldn't remember the names, he told him that he barely remembered anything from before waking up. It was a lie, but he just couldn't tell the man that he came from another world where he had been used as a tool to fight for someone.

After the blond calmed down the knight resumed his questioning. "I'd like to know how you got ... away, if you remember that." He said as the blond looked at the katana.

"I fought my way out…" he told the man in an emotionless voice "…I killed my way out." He continued. The boy then looked back up at the knight, he didn't seemed fazed by that, like killing was an everyday occurrence in this world – the blond hoped not however.

"I see…you did struck me as a warrior." The man mumbled to himself, something that the blond had heard. "What do you plan on doing after you are discharged from the hospital?" Ronda asked curiously.

Naruto looked at the man in the eyes, then he looked down at his hands and wondered. He didn't know what to do, he had no idea and he didn't plan for something like this. The knight saw the boy's distress and his eyes softened a little, he remembered that the nurse told them he was an orphan with no living relatives alive. He might be an old but he had an idea, if he was really a strong warrior he had a plan.

"How about this…you can live at my place until you figure out what to do…and if you still don't know I could offer you a place in the Royal Guard." The knight said making the blond look up in wonder "We are always looking for new recruits." He said with a small smile as the blond looked down in thought.

"Can I…think about it?" he asked as the knight nodded and stood up.

"You do that…and when you have an answer let me know, I will return in the morning." He said as he walked towards the door. Before he left he heard a barely audible 'thank you', he grinned as he left the room.

**xXx**

A week had passed before the blond was let to leave. The first thing the blond did when he got out of bed was look at himself in the mirror, at first he screamed when he saw himself alerting the nurse that ran in to check what happened. He excused himself saying that he was startled by something he imagined, the nurse laughed at that and left him alone. The blond was surprised when he saw himself in the mirror, he was still his old self – the blond boy with blue eyes – but there was on thing missing…he had no more whiskers. He pinched himself and rubbed his cheeks, but in the end he was sure he wasn't imagining it…he had no more whiskers.

Over the course of the week he had gotten to know the Knight-Commander better. Ronda lived at the outskirts of a small village, in the mountain. Bandits were a very rare sight there due to the strong presence of the Royal Guard in the nearby castle, just a few kilometers away from Ronda's house. The man lived with his wife and from what he understood they had no offspring. The man dodged questions about that, it made the blond think that something bad had happened if they did have an offspring – he didn't press forward on the subject.

Ronda brought the blond up to date with the new world – the knight believed he was telling an amnesiac something he would know if he remembered. The boy was amazed at what he heard, he began to wonder if his chakra was anything like magic. But when he tried to do simple tricks like Henge or Kawarimi, nothing worked. He could still feel his energy flowing through his body, he could still access it to walk on walls and use it to disrupt machinery, but other than that, he couldn't do anything else.

At first he was worried, though he did not show it. When the knight told him that mages can live on even if they run out of magic he felt jealous. He had limited supplies that needed to be refilled and if he were to exhaust them all he would die. He was completely different, unlike the mages here. But the fact that he could not use any jutsu's now, it opened up new doors for him.

He tried to keep a positive outlook on everything, if he couldn't use chakra to fight anymore then maybe there was no point in fighting. He had a bit of training in the art of smithy, he knew how to forge basic weapons such as daggers, if he could learn more he could start a shop and live a normal life.

But then again, he felt like the normal life wasn't all that grand, he would miss the excitement. When he was young there was excitement in being part of the army – that is when the old man was still alive – so he thought of taking up Ronda's offer. On the last day before leaving he had a light spar with the commander. The man was impressed with the blond's skill – with a wooden stick – and the blond was glad he still knew how to wield a weapon.

Ronda told the blond that he would instruct him at home how to fight like a Royal Guard as his stance was no good when fighting arm to arm with brothers. The blond knew that, his swordsmanship relied on one versus one, or one versus an entire army. He always fought alone in the past, he always looked after his back alone in the past, but now, it was going to change.

The trip to the knight's place was uneventful – at least in some points. The commander had been amused by the blond the whole way, he acted like a small child that was seeing something new for the first time in his life. They stopped numerous times on their way so that the blond could look at things that in his eyes he deemed incredible and exciting.

Ronda was surprised that Naruto had been lured away by simple magic tricks, even though the man performing them was a real mage the tricks usually only appealed to young kids, the boy was a teen already and yet when he laid his eyes on the simple illusion he was drawn in.

Even while walking through the forest the man was forced to walk at a more subdued pace as the blond went on the explore everything he came across. While the boy did stick to the road and didn't venture in the forest he would take his time in looking at everything, amazed by what he was seeing. The knight felt sad for the boy, if life for a slave was this harsh then he dreaded to imagine what would have happened if the blond never had the courage to fight back and remained a slave forever.

By the time they reached Ronda's house it was already dark outside, the village was quiet and apart from two guards that were patrolling on the streets there was no one else outside. When they reached the knights place they were greeted by his wife, a woman in her late thirties with long blond hair and green eyes. She scolded her husband for being late, something that brought a smile to the blond's lips – though he did not know why.

As the two were busy – the wife scolding the husband who was trying to explain why he was late – the blond looked around the place, he could see a river a few feet away. The knight told him he 'fished' the blond out of that river, he chuckled a little at that imagining the knight with a fishing rod, fishing him like he was some sort of fish. He then looked at the house, it was a small house but welcoming, a nice garden in front of it with flowers and a fence. Not far from the house he could see a small stable, most likely where the knight's horse was.

"Naruto…" he heard the knight call out, he turned around and saw the knight with his arm around his wife's waist, she was looking at him with a kind smile. "…I'd like you to meet my wife." He said as he looked towards her, the woman giggled as she gave a small bow.

"Its nice to meet you, my name is Aleandra." She said as the blond blushed from her act, she didn't need to bow before him.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto…" he replied with a small stutter as the woman giggled at his reaction.

"Come on in." she beckoned moving away from her husband and walking towards the house. "I'm sure your famished." She said with a smile as the blond nodded, his stomach growling in agreement.

As he stepped in the house he felt something he had never felt before, warmness and security. The house wasn't anything the blond hadn't seen before – considering how many houses he invaded in the other world – but it felt different than all the other.

As he sat at the table in the kitchen and waited for Aleandra to prepare the food he inspected the world around him taking account of everything that was in the kitchen. He saw photos and paintings on the walls, pots with flowers.

The blond's attention snapped to the table as the woman placed a dish with food in front of him. He looked at the dish and smiled slightly, he thanked her and began eating slowly enjoying the taste and savoring it fully.

"I see you like it." Aleandra said with a smile as Ronda sat down in front of the blond, she moved behind her husband and placed her hands on his shoulder.

The blond nodded happily and thanked her again making the woman giggle. "I prepared a room for you, my husband told me you will be staying with us for quite some time." She said as the blond looked up at her "If there is anything you need feel free to ask, we'll gladly help you." The knight nodded in agreement as the blond smiled widely and nodded vigorously.

"I will!" he exclaimed "Thank you! I promise I'll repay you one day!" he said once more with a big grin making Ronda laugh.

"No Naruto…there is no need for you to repay us…" he said kindly as his wife nodded.

"Yes, no one should live a life of slavery, we're happy to help those in need." She said as the blond looked down with a sad smile, he nodded and proceeded to eat his food in silence, he had no more doubts that he was in a new world now.

After he was done with his food the knight and his wife guided him to his new room. They left him alone so that he could accommodate, the blond was happy with his new life, even if it just started. He crashed on the bed and looked up at the ceiling with a large smile on his face. While the demons last words scared him, he didn't think about them too much now, not anymore.

He was already planning for the next day, making a schedule. The blond was planning to explore the village, to get to know the people, maybe he would live here in the end, settle down here. Naruto blushed slightly, he never thought about this but in this world he would be able to get that special someone, fall in love with a girl that is not a bitch, for one that would not betray him.

The blond smile turned into a sad one for a moment as he thought back, he quickly shook his head dismissing the thoughts. The past was nothing but that and should stay like that, he would never think about it, he learned all he needed from the past, it was time to look towards the future. And he would make sure to do so.

That night, for the first time in many years, he fell asleep with a smile on his face and with hopes for a better tomorrow.

**xXx**

"Naruto." Ronda called out, the blond looked up at the man, the bread hanging from his mouth. He quickly grabbed it and placed in on the plate in front of him before it fell on the floor from his mouth. "I need to report to the castle, can I ask you for a favor?" he asked as the blond nodded vigorously.

"Anything!" he said with a cheerful smile.

The man smiled back. "Could you help my wife with the shopping today?" he asked as the blond nodded, it wouldn't be a problem to do that.

Ronda bit his farewell to the blond and let the kitchen in search of his wife, the boy looked down at the plate and continued munching on the bread and ham happily. He felt like a little child, he acted like one – he knew that – and he didn't care. For a little while he wanted to have fun, to get back those years he lost.

Once he was done he cleaned the table and walked outside towards the river. He couched down and looked in the river at his reflection; he had to admit that he looked much better without the whiskers. He moved his hand through the cold water and shivered a little, he then smiled and stood up. The boy took a deep breath and looked around, he could see a watermill in the distance, uphill, there were several windmills not far away from it and from what the blond assumed, some grain farms.

"Ah there you are!" he heard Aleandra call out, he turned towards the house and saw her locking it up, she then walked towards him and smiled. "Ready to go?" she asked as the blond nodded and followed her into the village.

The boy looked around as they were greeted by everyone when they stepped in the village, he saw old and young, the old ones sitting under the shade or working on their farms with the adults, while the young were running around and having fun. He blushed a little as he saw a few girls looking at him and winking in his direction, it didn't help that the knight's wife laughed at his reaction.

"You're quite popular…and you only just arrived." She said with a grin as the blond looked away with a blush.

"Not my fault…" he mumbled as the woman giggled.

The two walked through the village buying from the farmers goods, Naruto took care of carrying the bags. Aleandra introduced him to the townsfolk each time they met someone new, he didn't complain, he was happy to meet new people and considering that he would stay here for quite some time it was best to get to know everyone.

After a few hours of walking and shopping from various farmers they stopped at the village square, Aleandra wanted the blond to rest a bit and even though he told her that he could still go on – that he wasn't tired yet – she insisted that they took a break. The blond sat on the bench and looked around as people passed by doing their daily business. He looked up at the sun and covered his eyes slightly, it was hot, but he liked it.

"Don't you want to sit in the shade?" he heard the woman ask, he turned to face her, she was sitting under a trees shade and eating an apple.

The boy shook his head as he looked back up at the sky and leaned on the bench. "I'm used to the heat…it's quite…relaxing once you get used to it." He told her, the woman smiled a bit as she moved her hand through her hair.

"Was it harsh?" she asked making the blond look at her strangely. "I mean…how they treat people…I only read in the papers and I never met one that got to be free." She said in a low voice, the blond sighed and looked at the sky as he replied to her question.

"Do this, do that, sleep little, eat lesser…" he said with a frown on his face. "…there were times I wished I could end my life…" he confessed as the woman looked at him sadly. "…but I didn't, I wanted freedom more than anything and I knew I could attain it if only I tried." He said as he smiled cheerfully and extended his hands to the sky. "And I did it…didn't I?" he asked with a grin as the woman nodded smiling.

"You are pretty brave, to take up arms and fight your way to freedom." She told him as she looked towards the sky as well. "It frightens me a little to be honest."

The boy looked towards her curiously. "I always worry when my husband leaves, I worry that one day he will not return." She said in a low voice as the blond looked away understanding what she meant.

"It scares me sometimes as well…" he confessed. "One wrong step…and it's over…" he sighed as he shook his head and smiled. "…but let's not talk about this, alright?" he asked with a grin, Aleandra looked at him and smiled softly as she nodded.

The woman stood up and arranged her dress before looking at the blond. "Lets go, we still got shopping to do." She said giggling slightly as the blond sighed softly, six hours and she still needed to get more stuff, he smiled however, he enjoyed this, it was different from what he did up until now and it felt much better.

He hoped that his life would only get better from now on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **Consider this chapter as a New Year gift, I won't be home for three days (from tomorrow till Sunday - and then exams start, bummer) so I wanted you guys to have this. I may or may not have another chapter on the 1st (or 2nd) of Jan. Depends on how drunk / tired / willing I am.

In any case, Happy New Year. (PS: 2012 is a joke, don't believe crap!)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 2**

After a week the blond had gotten used to the new place he was in, he got to know almost every person in the small village – mainly the farmers due to him always helping Aleandra with buying supplies. Four days ago Ronda had left to the castle and has yet to return, he said that he was on duty for an entire week. Before he left the knight gave the blond several books on the history of Earth Land and one book on the Royal Guard – as well as a training manual.

The knight stated that he wished for the blond to join the Guard, his skills in combat would prove useful later on, that and the fact that he could use a hand in cleaning the mountain of all the beasts that attacked villages. To hire a mage you would need a lot of money, the High Command of the Royal Guard wouldn't let Ronda spend money from the treasury to hire mages so they had to either gather money from their salary or go out themselves and hunt the beasts.

Usually it was only wolves, bears and some low level magical beasts, nothing that the Royal Guard couldn't handle. Stories told of a dragon living in the mountains yet they knew that if such a being lived there they would have nothing to worry about, times have passed and the dragons no longer hunted humans; even so, that didn't put some men at ease, they were always on the lookout and ready to defend themselves should the dragon turn against them.

Naruto didn't pay much attention to that, since he got the books he had been absorbed by them. To everyone it still looked like he was an amnesiac recovering, in truth, he really didn't know anything about this world.

What caught his eyes the most was the stories about mages and, in particular, the dark mage Zeref. He shivered slightly at what the books said he could do, it reminded him of several ninja's – in a way. But there was no way he could compare Zeref to the ninja's that went in the history books back home, the evil ones.

Dark magic was banned, hunted and when found, exterminated. He felt a little sorry for those that practiced this kind of magic, but at the same time he couldn't help but hate them. Why would one go to such lengths to attain power? He shook his head as he kept on reading, he had to admit that the man was genius, to construct living beings out of nothing.

He then began to wonder if he had magic abilities, he could still feel his chakra – or maybe it was magic now? – flowing through his veins, he could still access it and climb on walls, he had yet to show them this ability of his, he was afraid what they would think if they saw it, if they would link it to dark magic.

Naruto felt that it was better to keep this a secret, to hide it from them; after all there was no reason to use his chakra to climb walls here. Even though he had been for only one week the entire place was calm, no dangers in sight and from what he read the world he was in wasn't at war with anyone and all the countries lived in peace.

The next book he took great interest was the training manual, ever since he was young he loved to train, to become stronger. Back then he had a dream and to attain that dream he needed to grow strong, now he didn't have a dream, all he had was an ambition – to protect the knight that saved him and offered him shelter and his wife.

He spent the days outside with his dent katana, he tried to repair it himself but with no luck. The blacksmiths had no luck either in repairing the katana since they had never seen a model like that before, he tried to train with the katana even though he knew it would be useless, no one can train with a broken weapon. It was only a week later when Ronda returned that he managed to get some proper training done.

The knight brought a training sword with him and gave it to the blond, using that sword he was able to begin the first steps in the training manual and complete them with success. Ronda had been impressed, the blond was advancing faster than any recruit – and he was working on his own, not being drilled by an instructor.

Two weeks later the blond was still going strong on his training, he had already learned everything about the world he was now in, he knew about magic and when he was alone he trained in it, trying to unlock whatever magic powers he had.

Taking a deep breath the blond placed his sword on the ground and leaned down, staring at the sky. It was summer, the sun was strong during this time of the year. He watched as the clouds passed by and remembered of one of his friends. While he had been a great strategist it didn't serve him well on the battlefield, the blond felt a pang of guilt, his friend had died because of him – because of one mistake he made.

With a sigh he erased his thoughts and kept going over the steps in his training. He knew how to hold a sword and how to fight with one, using wood and some stone he created a makeshift mace and slowly he began learning how to use it. It didn't prove to be a hard task, it was almost like using a sword, almost.

Sitting up the boy looked towards the river. "Almost a month…" he whispered to himself, he still couldn't believe his luck. After all those years of planning and playing it safe he finally managed to get away and now he had the life he always wished for, or at least a part of it. Aleandra and Ronda stated that they considered him like a son, over the course of time they started to get to know him more and acted more like parents than friends.

It brought a smile to the boy's face, it was something he had always wanted. A family.

He slowly stood up and grabbed his sword, he assumed one of the attack positions he learned from the manual and began practicing swinging the sword up and down, slashing vertically. After a few minutes he took his training a step forward, he began imagining he was fighting an enemy, he moved his sword in front of him, in a vertical position to parry the imaginary attack.

The blond turned a little to the side and moved his sword above his head, lowering it down in front of him, cutting the imaginary foe. He slashed vertically once more before repeating all the moves again and again, in his mind he was fighting multiple foes, he always did train like this.

"Naruto!" he heard someone call out, his eyes snapped open – he didn't even know when he had closed them – and turned to the source of the sound. He saw Aleandra walking on the road towards the house and waving at him, behind her were two more women – one was the same age as her and the other the same age as the blond.

The boy smiled and waved back before turning his attention back to the 'foe' he was fighting. He prepared to continue his exercise when Aleandra called him once more. "Naruto, take a break, I want you to meet someone."

He blinked once before twirling the sword through his fingers – something he always did with his katana in the past – and finally sheathed it. He bent down picking up the training manual that was laying on the grass and walked towards the woman.

He smiled as he walked towards her. "Anything I can help with?" he asked noticing the bags in her hands, the woman smiled and shook her head before turning to the side slightly so that he could see her companions.

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine." She said motioning to the woman. "This is Maya, we grew up in the same village and we've known each other for a very long time. She's my closest friend." She said with a big smile as the boy studied the woman.

She was a bit taller than Aleandra, by at least two centimeters –barely a difference in height in the blond's opinion. She had long black hair with brown eyes, she was dressed like all the other village women. "It's nice to meet you." He said with a bow as the woman smiled and bowed as well.

"It's a pleasure Naruto-san, I've been hearing a lot of good things about you." She stated as the blond chuckled and scratched his cheek.

Aleandra giggled a little as she looked at the girl next to Maya. "And this is Yuna, Maya's daughter." She said as the blond looked towards the girl.

Like her mother she had long black hair, her eyes however were a mix between brown and blue, most likely her father had blue eyes. She was smaller than him in height by half a head. She smiled towards the blond and bowed respectfully, he did the same returning the smile.

"Have you been training since morning?" Aleandra asked as she walked forward. Naruto nodded with a smile making her shake her head slightly. "You need to take a break from time to time Naruto."

He laughed at that. "You'd be surprised how long I can go without getting tired." He told her as she sighed softly.

"Don't remind me…" she then turned towards her friend and continued "…once he vanished for three days, my husband found him not far in the woods. He had been training for three days straight, no rest, no food…"

"Hey, hey…I did eat…berries…" the blond mumbled before looking away with a light blush, Aleandra shook her head as she walked towards the house with her friend and Yuna behind her. The girl giggled at the blond making his blush intensify a little.

"You slept for two days straight after that, now come on in and rest." She said as they entered the house, with a sigh the blond ran towards the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

He walked through the hallway till he reached his room and placed the sword and book on the bed. He grabbed a few clothes and walked in the bath for a quick shower. Once that was done he dressed in his clean clothes and walked out of the room to the kitchen where he found Aleandra talking with her friend. The girl was sitting at the table next to her mother and listening to the conversation, but not saying a word.

Naruto walked next to his adoptive parent and sat down next to her, she extended a cup of tea to the blond who accepted it and thanked her. He took a sip from the cup and sighed happily, Aleandra made the best tea in the village; it always put his mind at ease.

"So, Naruto-san…" Maya started, the blond looked up at her. "…you planning on joining the Royal Guard in the Castle?" she asked as the blond smiled and nodded.

"Ronda-san said I'd make a great addition to the ranks, he said I would be able to make it Knight-Commander if I keep it up like this." He laughed a little; he was in no hurry to attain such a high rank yet.

"I suggested he should become a farmer…" Aleandra said nodding to herself, the blond huffed and looked away "…but he has way too much energy and he's more of the adventurous type."

The boy shrugged as he drank his tea. "Ever since I was young I wanted to explore everything I could…" he said.

"But you know that if you join the Royal Guard you won't get to have an adventure, its all just guarding duty, rarely are the troops mobilized." Maya stated as Aleandra nodded in agreement.

Once more the blond shrugged. "True, but you may never know, one day I might be guarding the gates the other I might be hunting wild life or bandits." He replied as his adoptive mother sighed and shook her head. "And you worry too much." He told her with a big grin.

She sighed as she shook her head. "Why don't you go and chat with Yuna, me and Maya have business to discuss in private." She said as the blond shrugged and stood up, he walked over to the girl and offered her his hand. The girl blushed and took his hand, standing up on her feet. She followed the blond outside.

Naruto did his best to ignore the giggling of the two elder women as he walked out of the kitchen, he looked at the girl behind him and saw her blushing as well. He looked away and turned his attention in front of him, his mind drifting away. Another blush crept on his face as he realized he was going to spend a good portion of the day with a girl his age.

Back in his old world he didn't spend even five minutes with a girl, he didn't really know what to do or what to say to her. The boy gulped slightly, he didn't want to embarrass himself, Ronda did tell him that the best way to make friends is to just be yourself, the old man back home told him the same thing.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as he realized they were now outside, near the river. When in deep thought his body always brought him here, he looked behind him and saw the girl was admiring the scenery. Feeling his gaze on her she turned to face him and smile softly.

"So…umm…" the blond started scratching the back of his head, the girl giggled slightly at that. "…damn this is harder than I thought." The blond mumbled to himself making her laugh.

He looked up at her and smiled a little as he saw her laugh; he had to admit that she looked cute. After a few seconds she looked back at him and smiled. "How about I start?" she asked as she extended her hand to him. "My name is Yuna, I was born here in the village, I'm fifteen years old and I love flowers." She said as she leaned forward a bit. "Especially white roses." She said giggling as the blond smiled warmly.

He took her hand and replied. "I'm Naruto, I was born in a far away land, I'm fifteen years old and I love reading." He told her as they shook hands. "Mostly, I love reading mystery books." He finished as the girl gasped and smiled brightly.

"I love that genre!" she exclaimed as she brought her hands together in front of her. "What's your favorite?" she asked as the blond immediately answered with a big smile.

"_A king's plea._"he replied as the girl smiled brightly.

"I love that one." She stated as the blond laughed. "What's your favorite part?" she inquired as the blond began talking.

He began telling her about his favorite part, how the King in the story discovered how his own men were actually conspiring against him. Yuna listened to him as he talked, something that the blond wasn't used to, no one – apart from his new family – had ever stayed to listen to him with such interest.

Slowly the day passed and they got to know each other better. The blond confessed that he wanted to do something good in this world and since he didn't know if he had what it takes to be a mage – considering he was already fifteen years old – he believe that by joining the Royal Guard he would be able to do something with his life, he would be able to protect innocent people.

He was happy hearing that Yuna liked his idea, even though she admitted that the thought of someone close to her going into battle and dying scared her and that she would rather have them not be part of the army. Naruto felt happy – he did not know why – when hearing that, he reassured her that he was stronger than he looks and that it would take a dragon or even a demon to bring him down – if he could be brought down.

Naruto listened to Yuna as she expressed her wish to become an actress, he stayed and watched her perform a scene from a novel she had read and was fascinated by her acting. He felt happy during the short time they spent together, talking and laughing. By the time the sun set they were still outside, talking and laughing.

Before leaving they said they'd meet again the next morning, in the village center. He watched her with a smile on his face as she vanished in the horizon and ignored Aleandra and her giggling.

"Someone fell in love~" she said with a smile on her face, poking the blond on his shoulder. He blushed as he looked at her.

"I did not!" he exclaimed clearly embarrassed. "I made a friend…" he mumbled as the woman kept on giggling. He grumbled to himself as he walked back in the house closely followed by Aleandra.

**xXx**

A month had passed and life continued on as it has always did. The blond found that the quiet life was not that bad in the end, he always dreaded that a quiet life would be boring. But it proved that there was always something do to, even if you weren't going to fight or train all the time.

He spent the morning helping Aleandra with tasks around the house, the evenings either training or with Yuna and the nights he usually spent them with the girl. There wasn't much to do in the village, but the little that they could do was enough. Naruto found out that even Yuna was adventurous a little bit, she liked to walk through the fields at night just to gaze at the stars. The surrounding area wasn't very dangerous but threats still lurked at night, the blond would usually carried his sword with him despite her reassurance that nothing would ever happen.

Slowly, summer was coming to an end and the cold was approaching. Ronda and Aleandra went with the blond to the city to get him warmer clothes for the winter, while they were there Ronda visited an armourer with the boy to get an armor built for him. The Royal Guard didn't keep spare armors anymore and instead had a special armourer in close vicinity to a castle or keep where they made their armors – same with the weapons.

When he first tried the armor on the blond felt like weights from back home were dropped on his shoulder, he couldn't believe how heavy the armor was. He shocked them however when he proved to them that he could walk around with it and turn his body freely.

As leafs began to fall from the trees Naruto stayed days watching them, he watched as leafs changed colors and dropped on the ground. In Konoha it was rare to have cold weather, rarer to have a winter and for leafs to fall from trees. To Ronda's amusement the blond acted like a little child when he first saw leafs falling from the trees, and to Yuna's amusement when he pointed to everything that was happening around them.

"I never saw anything like this before…" he told her with a sad voice on one of their meetings. "…I believe they told you, I was a slave after my grandfather died…didn't have the luxury to see or to enjoy a scenery such as this." He explained and she understood perfectly.

He didn't admit it but he loved her, more than he used to love that pink haired girl from back home, and unlike that one this one was real love. The way she laughed and acted, she wasn't spoiled like others and enjoyed what she had, didn't ask or beg for more if it wasn't attainable. She listened to him and cared for his safety.

During the month Ronda and Aleandra officially adopted the blond, he found out that their son died a long time ago when bandits raided the village. They didn't tell him this, he found out from Maya. The boy was happy to fill a little part of the void in their hearts, especially after everything they did for him.

Ronda had introduced him to the town-watch and from time to time he was placed with one of the night patrols, to look over the village at night. It was an uneventful job, he also used it as an excuse to visit Yuna at night as well much to the amusement of his partner.

"Naruto!" the girl called, he turned around and smiled at the girl that was running towards him. It was early in the morning, he was currently returning home from a full night of patrolling.

The blond embraced her as she got close. "Good morning." He whispered as Yuna giggled, she looked at him and kissed him.

"You going home?" she asked as the blond nodded. The girl frowned slightly as she snuggled in his chest. "I wish we could spend the day together…" she whispered.

Naruto chuckled a little in response before kissing her on the head and moving his right hand through her hair. "We could, but I'd be like a zombie, barely able to stand up. And you know my mother…she wouldn't agree on going for more than twenty hours without sleep."

Yuna giggled and nodded, Aleandra was strict when it came to the blond's health, mostly because if no one looked after him then he would die of either thirst, hunger or lack of sleep. "There's a play tomorrow in the city." She said looking in his eyes. "Can we go?" she asked moving closer to him.

He chuckled, she knew fully well that he would never say 'no' to her. "Of course we can." He told her as she smiled brightly. "When does it start?" he asked.

"It's at eight in the night." She replied and the blond's smile dropped a little, he frowned slightly knowing that it would be hard to convince both Aleandra and Maya to let them go, that they would be alright.

"You worry too much." She said giggling "Mother already knows and she has complete confidence in you."

Naruto smiled at that. "At least one believes in my abilities…" he whispered as he kissed her on the lips. "…I should get going." He told her, Yuna nodded as she looked in his eyes.

"Sleep well." She said as Naruto thanked her and kissed her one more time before leaving.

There wasn't a day that passed uneventful, even the next day on their trip back through the dark was uneventful. It was like no one wanted to cause trouble in a small place like this, he didn't complain, he loved the way things were.

Everything was going peacefully, until one night when his life took a turn for better or for worse.

It was close to October when it happened, the blond was on night patrol, this time alone as his partner fell sick the other day. He didn't mind patrolling the streets alone, even though Aleandra disliked it and pestered him that he should call in favors and have someone else do the patrolling on this night.

Naruto didn't like doing that, if he was going to join the Royal Guard he needed to prove that he was capable of handling anything on his own, if necessary. Ronda told him how there were times when a squad would get outnumbered, everyone would need to take up multiple targets to keep up and protect their squad mates, if one would fall behind they would all die.

The boy was cut out of his mussing as he heard something. He came to a halt and looked around the dark street, there was no lighting on the streets, a small village cannot afford something so modern to be built. He lifted his light up and looked at the street.

"Hello?" he asked "Is there anyone out there?" no reply came, the blond shrugged as he turned around and continued walking. It was probably just the wind.

After walking for a few minutes he arrived at what used to be the mayor's house, the village used to have a mayor in the past. He didn't know the full story but from what he could understand it seemed like the man had died due to a disease, no one wanted to take the role of mayor anymore as the old men were all superstitious and believed the seat was cursed.

He laughed slightly before shaking his head, he was about to leave when he saw a light moving through the hallways of the large house. The boy lowered his own light and looked closer at the house, he saw the light again. He sighed; most likely the damn youngsters were rummaging through abandoned houses at night again, playing pranks on each other and trying to scare themselves.

With a sigh he jumped over the fence and began walking towards the entrance, he rummaged through his pockets and brought out a large chain with keys. He flipped through the keys trying to find the right one, he stopped at the thirteenth key and grinned as he opened the door.

The large door opened with a loud screech making him twitch. "Hello?" he called out, his voice echoing through the empty hallways. Slowly he brought up the light and looked around the place, he shivered a little, the place gave him an eerie feeling. The wind blew all of a sudden putting out the fire in his lamp. He cursed as he tried to find something light it back up.

"…something?" he heard a voice echo, barely audible. He listened carefully.

"No I didn't hear anything, go check the door you scardy-cat!" this was louder, and the blond was now sure there weren't any kids here. The one that spoke was older, in his thirties if he was right, someone was trespassing.

Slowly he closed the door behind him and walked away, hiding under the stairs. A few moments later he heard footsteps and light flooded the hallway, he peered from under the stairs and looked up, he could barely distinguish the man but he was sure that he wasn't a villager. He was wearing leather armor and had a sword in his hand.

"Pff…nothing here…just the wind." The man said as he turned around and began walking away. The blond placed his lamp on the ground and unsheathed his sword, he crouched down and began walking up the stairs slowly.

He cursed slightly as each step he took made the stairs squeak, luckily the man was already far away and he didn't hear the noise. When he reached the top floor he carefully moved in the direction he last saw the strange man go. The boy shivered slightly, this entire place gave him the creeps.

After a few minutes he saw a light in one of the rooms and he could hear a commotion. He walked slowly towards the door and peered inside, there were five men there, four were wearing leather armor and seemed like they were just mercs while the fifth wore a black robe. He stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well?" the man asked in a ruff voice as the mercs shook their heads.

"Nothing here…" one of them said "…nor here…" the second replied "…this is a waste of time…" the third complained slamming a drawer on the floor, papers falling all over on the ground. "…agreed." The last one stated standing up and looking around.

"Keep searching, I didn't pay you for nothing." The man stated.

Naruto slowly moved inside the room and towards the cloaked man as he was the closest. However, before he could even get close enough the man's head snapped to the side and then he turned towards the blond. His hand extended towards him, an invisible force pushed the blond away making him fly towards the wall in the hallway.

The mercs jumped on their feet and unsheathed their weapons. "What happened?" one of them shouted as the mage scowled.

"Seems like one of the town watch discovered us, finish him and then get back to work!" he ordered as the man walked out of the room towards the blond.

Said blond shook his head, getting rid of the dizziness. His eyes widened as he saw a sword moving close to him, ready to lob his head off. He ducked just as the sword was about to cut him and rolled out of the way, he jumped back on his feet and grabbed his sword.

One of the mercs charged forward with his sword raised, the blond lifted his sword and parried the attack. He moved to the side and slammed his elbow in the mercs face making him pull back in pain. Before he could finish him off his comrades charged forward. The blond raised his sword paring an attack and side-stepped the other.

He cursed slightly, if only he had a shield. Back home he had been training with a wooden shield, that wouldn't have helped him here and he always doubted that he would need it on his patrols, he regretted not bringing it here now however, it might have proven useful.

His eyes widened as he ducked under a swing, he was about to lose his life. With a growl he began attacking, slashing towards his foes and forcing them into assuming a defensive position. The Royal Guard had a tactic used to take the upper hand in a fight, consisting of rapid attacks against your foes so that they would either fall into a defensive position or retreat.

With each slash the blond felt himself getting tired, it required a lot of concentration and energy. Concentration so that he could keep track with his foes movement so as not to be caught in a trap or be caught wide open for a strike, and energy to keep the pressure on the foe.

The boy let out a battle cry as he raised his sword over his head and then lowered it on top of his foe. The merc parried the attack; he crouched from the sheer pressure of the attack. The blond's fist suddenly connected with his face making the merc fly back and crash into his comrade, he shouted in pain as he felt his comrade's sword pierce through his body.

"You bastard!" the second merc shouted as he charged forward, the blond parried his attack and side-stepped, he then moved forward, his sword slashing his foe. The man coughed blood as he fell on his knees and then face first on the floor.

Naruto looked at the remaining two and assumed his position, the men tightened their hold on the sword and shivered slightly. They were about to attack when their leader stepped out of the room carrying a strange tome in his hands.

"I found it, we're leaving…" he said as he looked towards the blond and extended his hand forward. The blond's eyes widened as he felt the same pressure from before hit him head on and sending him flying throughout the hallway, crashing in the wall on the other end.

He gasped for air as he fell face first on the ground moments later. The boy tried to stand up, he grit his teeth as he placed his right hand on the ground and shakily lifted his body up. The entire world was spinning around him. He looked up at the man before him, a mage no doubt. The man motioned for the mercs to finish him off, they grinned as they walked forward.

Naruto was now scared, he felt powerless, he didn't want to die like this after attaining his freedom, he didn't want to leave this world yet. Then, he felt something call out, he felt something boiling inside him, different than his chakra and from any sensation he had felt before. The boy reached out for it, anything that would save him was welcomed right now.

Everything happened in one second, the mage's eyes widened when he felt a strange – yet familiar – power coming from the boy, he reacted as fast as he could creating a shield in front of him. His mercs however, were unlucky, the blond's head snapped up and he extended his open palm towards them, and a blinding light shot out ripping the flesh and taking the lives of the two mercs.

As the light died down the skeletons of the two mercs dropped on their knees with their heads down. The blond stared in shock at what he had done, he literarily ripped the flesh from the bones of the two men and destroyed all their organs. Then the unthinkable happened, the skeleton's head snapped up as they got on their feet and turned towards the mage.

He watched in wonder what was happening, the mage was even amazed when the skeletons charged forward to kill him. But in the end, they were just bones barely holding up. The little magic that sustained them wasn't enough to make them strong and make them last. With a single attack he destroyed the attackers, their bones flying all over the hallway hitting the walls and dropping on the ground.

The mage turned his attention to the blond as he extended his arm towards him, the same force from before slammed him on the ground. "Interesting…to wield such power…" he whispered, clearly amused. "…and you are a town guard…what would they do when they find out you have magic powers?" he asked as more pressure was added to the spell making the blond scream in pain. "Dark magic…" the man laughed as he lifted the blond up and threw him out the window. "…so interesting…" he mumbled to himself as he turned around and left, opting to leave the blond alive for now.

Outside Naruto coughed as he processed what just happened, killing was part of his life, he knew that sooner or later he would have to kill again. He was born a killer and most likely would die a killer. What scared was the magic he possessed, he began crying no matter how much his body hurt. He possessed dark magic, and worse of all he had killed two men with it and reanimated their skeletal remains.

"Kyuubi…" he mumbled to himself through grit teeth as the foxes voice echoed through his mind, as its last word resonated through his memories. In the end, he was never free from it.

**xXx**

"_**I curse you Uzumaki!"**__ its voice echoed throughout the boy's mindscape, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make its voice go away. __**"I curse you for all eternity!"**__ it shouted as the world around him vanished._

Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, once more the smell of antiseptics invaded his nostrils making him groan louder. "The hospital…again…" he mumbled as he opened his eyes and looked around.

There was no one in the room, he sighed a little, he was hoping to wake up and see someone – but then again, it was better like this, he didn't have to face his adoptive mother's wrath, or his fathers lecture. He chuckled a bit before grabbing his chest in pain, he sighed at that and relaxed his body.

The boy replayed the events in his mind, he brought his hands up and looked at them, he couldn't believe that the magic he possessed was dark magic. He was more than sure that it was Kyuubi's doing, that this is what the fox referred to when it stated that it would curse him.

He scowled as he looked towards the window and let his hands drop on the bed; it was midday from what he believed. He was worried now, worried as to what to do with his magic. He couldn't show it to anyone, they wouldn't understand and he'd just return to where he started.

The door suddenly opened and drew the boy's attention; he looked towards the newcomer and cringed. Ronda stood in the doorway with an angry look on his face. He walked inside and closed the door behind him; he then walked towards the blond's bed and sat down in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

They stood in silence, for minutes. Naruto didn't know what to say, he knew he screwed up.

"Do you know…how worried we were?" Ronda started as the blond lowered his head.

"No…" he replied meekly as the man kept silent, his eyes scanning the boy in front of him.

"Why didn't you come and alert me?" he asked, the boy cringed at the anger pouring out with each word the knight said. "You could have died!" he growled out.

"I thought…that it was only the kids, again." He replied lowly as the knight narrowed his eyes.

"And yet when you realized that it wasn't the kids why didn't you come and alert me?" he asked once more as the blond looked up.

"They would have left! And then…" he was interrupted as his father raised his voice.

"And then what?" he asked glaring at the blond "Was it really worth it?" he asked once more as the blond looked down at the sheets and shook his head giving a soft 'no' as a reply.

The man sighed as he leaned in his chair. "Your mother worried a lot…" he laughed a little "…she berated me that I shouldn't have agreed to let you be on the night-watch." Ronda shook his head.

"Sorry…" the blond muttered as Ronda sighed once more.

"Tell that to your mother…" he said as he looked towards the window "…and your girlfriend, she was also worried…we barely convinced her to go home and rest." The blond smiled a little, he felt happy knowing that people were worried about him, but at the same time he felt awful for making them worry in the first place.

The two stood in silence for several minutes before Ronda spoke once more. "We found two dead bodies and two…skeletal remains…what happened?" he asked as the blond fidgeted, he didn't know what to say about the skeletal remains.

"I killed the first two..." the boy started as Ronda nodded, he had already assumed that. "…the other two were killed by the mage." He didn't like doing this, but the blond had no choice but to lie here, he couldn't tell him that he used magic to rip the flesh of the bones of those two mercs.

The knight stood in silence for a few minutes, contemplating on what the blond said. "What did they want?" he asked.

"I don't know." The boy replied, he then remembered of the item the mage had taken before leaving. "Ah…there was a book, or something like that." He said looking towards the knight. "They wanted a book that was in the house."

Ronda nodded while scratching his chin. "I'll have to report this to the council…they'll know what to do." He muttered to himself as he stood up. He turned around and began leaving. Upon reaching the door he turned slightly towards the blond, though he avoided eye contact. "I'm disappointed with your impulsive action…they were inside an abandoned house, no one would have been hurt…you could have reported first." He said before leaving the blond alone to think.

The next day he was visited by his mother and Yuna, once more he had been berated but this time by his mother. It was the first time he had seen her cry and it was because of his rash actions.

As for Yuna, he found himself in her hug the moment she entered the room. It was only after his mother began berating him that she let go of him.

"How are you feeling?" Yuna asked in a low voice as she held his right hand. The blond smiled as he tightened his hold on her hand.

"Been better…sorry I worried you." He replied as the girl smiled and brought his hand closer to her. She kissed him lightly on the hand and smiled.

"We were all worried…I prayed day and night for your well being." She told him, he smiled at that. The doctors told him that he had been asleep for a week and that he didn't show signs of waking up any time soon.

He looked towards his mother who was sitting on the other side of the bed, her head down as she fiddled with her dress. "Mom…" he started, she looked up at him. "…I'm really sorry. Father already told me what I should have done, it won't happen again." He told her as she sighed and looked back down at her feet.

"I know…" she said in a low voice. Naruto remembered the discussion they had on the second day after they met, how she said she was always afraid of losing her husband on day on the battlefield. After they adopted him she said the same thing about him, she had already lost a son.

"Maybe…maybe I'll drop it…" the blond said making Aleandra look at him "…maybe I won't join the Royal Guard after all…and just be a farmer like you suggested." He told her with a smile.

The woman looked at him with shock before smiling and laughing a little. She shook her head as she wiped a few stray tears away from her eyes. "No…follow your dream…but promise me you will never do anything like that ever again." She said as the blond grinned and nodded.

He then turned his attention to his girlfriend and smiled. "Promise me as well…" she said with a smile as she leaned closer.

"I promise." He told her, Aleandra stood up and walked out of the room leaving the two as they began kissing. She smiled as she looked at the young couple and left them alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: **11:11 PM at night, any errors you might spot are because I'm too tired to fix them, feel free to point them out if you really want to.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 3**

The seventeen year old blond looked at the castle before him in wonder, it was the first time he had seen the castle in which Aonda was stationed. The castle was protected by two layers of walls, between the two layers there were several guardhouses in which the troops slept during the night, some of the guardhouses held supplies such as food, water and medical supplies.

Inside, after the second layer of wall stood three large buildings, in between them was another building, larger than the three and connected with them. The largest was where the knight-commander had his office and where high ranking officers had their bunks. The building to the right kept all the armors and weapons that the Royal Guard had in excess. In the same building they had barrels with oil, tools used for building traps and defenses and several ballistae.

The building to the left contained a library on the last two floors, the treasury, the kitchen and storage where the cooks had their supplies when they had to prepare a feast. The final building, located behind the main one was a mystery to the blond. The knight-commander gave him no information, the entrances were either locked or under guard constantly. Aonda stated that after reaching a certain rank and time within the Royal Guard he would be told what was inside the final building.

"First time seeing something like this?" the knight-commander asked as they walked through the gatehouse of the first layer of wall.

The boy nodded as he looked at the guards stationed in front of the gatehouse. "The only castles I saw can't compare in size with this one." He said as he looked in front of him again.

As they entered the courtyard the blond was amazed by the number of gatehouses, he counted at least twenty. Aonda explained that one guardhouse could be used by five soldiers, they were smaller than the usual guardhouses that castles and keeps had. It was due to the location of the castle, there was very little space so they had to make do with what they had.

The Royal Guard in castle Kimos were the ones guarding the town on Tatcha as well as all the villages in the mountain. Because of this they had a lot of recruits coming from the villages and the town, most of them were young men dreaming for a life of adventure – something that blond had dreamt about in the past.

Naruto saw soldiers pilling up around campfires made in front of several guardhouses. He noticed that many of them were either playing cards or eating. Aonda explained that the guardhouses had their own fireplace and that they kept the men stationed here warm during the winters, they usually stayed outside around campfires to eat, tell stories, joke or just play cards.

"Put your backs into it!" the boy's attention snapped towards the source of the sound, he saw a drill sergeant pacing back and forth while looking at a bunch of men doing push-ups. Naruto shivered a little as he looked at them, thinking that he would have to endure more training when he would join the Royal Guard.

He looked to the left a little and noticed several recruits sparring against each other. The boy stopped for a second to watch them spar, he hadn't been able to fight against anyone else apart from Aonda ever since he got in this world, he wasn't allowed to fight with the others on the town-watch, he didn't really know why but he never asked.

Aonda tugged the blond making him look at him, he motioned for him to follow. Looking at the ground one last time the blond turned his attention towards the commander, following him.

Upon reaching the second gatehouse they were greeted by two guardsmen, they saluted the commander and let them pass. Naruto was surprised that the second gatehouse was larger than the first, at the end of it there were two more guardsmen, this surprised the blond, it seemed like security was tighter here.

As they walked through the courtyard he noticed a lot more soldier training here, they were also better equipped. Unlike the ones in the previous courtyard these ones had metal and plate armors, their helmets covered their heads completely, covering their faces.

"Come Naruto." He heard Aonda say, he didn't notice that he had been spacing out.

The boy shook his head and ran up to the commander, he stood close-by as the commander had requested before arriving at the castle. They walked towards the main building where they were once more greeted by guards. Once inside Naruto stood for a moment to gape at the sheer size of the buildings interior.

Aonda had to call the blond once more to make him move, he chuckled slightly at how easily he could be amazed by some of the simplest things. They made their way through the building until they reached Aonda's office, there was a guard stationed at the door – this surprised the blond.

The man saluted and let them pass, once inside he closed the door behind them. "Have a seat Naruto." The commander said as he walked towards his desk and sat down behind it.

The boy did as he was told; he walked up and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. He looked as Aonda rummaged through some papers. After a few minutes of silence the commander began speaking.

"So what do you think of the place?" he asked while still rummaging through papers. The blond grinned as he leaned in the chair.

"It's awesome!" he exclaimed making Aonda chuckle "I never imagined this place was so big!" Aonda had told him about the castle, he never got the chance to actually show it to the blond due to numerous reasons, the boy had to get accustomed to his new life first and foremost, then his wife kept holding him home for various tasks.

"You will get used to it…and later you might hate the place…" he chuckled as the blond shrugged a little, over time the awe would vanish and after many days, weeks, months or even years of guard duty some would get so tired of it they would just resign.

Once more silence fell over them, the commander kept rummaging through papers, what he was looking for the blond didn't know. Naruto looked around, studying the room he was in, there were four armors in the room, two on each side holding a sword in their hands, portraits and other paintings on the walls, several bookshelves and a couch to the right side in between the two statues.

"Ah, finally…" Aonda's voice resonated through the silence drawing the boy's attention. The man stood up and pushed a few papers towards the blond who looked at them strangely. "To join the Royal Guard you need to fill in some papers, these will go in our archives."

"What are they for?" the blond asked as he took a pen in his hands and looked over the papers.

"Documents used to track of soldiers records in the Royal Guard, depending on your rank and performance your pay will be better and so will your retirement fund." Aonda said as he began looking over the papers in the boy's hands. "Just write everything that's needed in the empty spaces." He said as the blond nodded and began writing down.

"I heard you're leaving tonight." Aonda said after a few minutes, the blond grinned and nodded at the statement.

"There's a play in Onibus town, Yuna wanted to go." He replied as Aonda walked over to a cabin.

"And your mother agreed?" he asked curiously before shaking his head. "No, did Maya agree to that?" he corrected himself, Onibus town was far away, at least three days if they took a magical transport, a day if they took the train.

Naruto nodded however with a smile on his face. "Yuna made a deal with her, she'd buy her some souvenirs that she had wanted to get when they first visited the town if Maya let her go with me."

Aonda opened the cabin and took out a sword from inside, he then closed the cabin and turned towards the blond. "What about your mother?" he asked as the blond chuckled.

"Yuna convinced her." He replied making the commander laugh a bit, he walked over to the blond and placed the sword on the desk in front of him. Naruto stopped writing and looked at the item in front of him curiously.

"Take it, it used to be mine when I was a lieutenant here." The commander replied as he sat down behind his desk once more. "I had it sharpened every month." He said.

Naruto looked at the sword; it had its own scabbard as well. The blond grabbed the sword and unsheathed it slowly; he was surprised to see it wasn't your ordinary sword. The Sword had been coated in silver with stainless steel hilts. The hilts were custom made with a wolf with its head at the hilt, two talons as the hand guard.

"I…don't know what to say…" the blond stuttered as he looked at the blade and then at Aonda. "Thank you." He told him with a big smile on his face as the man nodded.

"Just be sure to have it with you when you leave, I don't want you to go out in the world unarmed." He lectured as the blond nodded and resumed working on his papers. After a few minutes he handed them to the commander who looked over them with a pleased smile on his face.

Once he was done reviewing the papers he called for the guard at the door and dismissed the blond. The guard guided the blond out of the castle, by the time he would return from his trip his papers would have the official stamp and he would be part of the Royal Guard.

Once he was outside the blond made his way back home, his new sword in his hand. It was sheathed in its scabbard.

After two hours of walking the blond arrived at the village entrance, he was greeted by one of the town guard. He smiled and exchanged a few words with the man before going on his way, he needed to prepare for tonight as he would leave for Tatcha to catch the train for Onibus.

Once his home came into view he smiled seeing Aleandra in the garden, tending to her flowers. The woman stood up and looked down the road, smiling as she saw the blond approaching. She then noticed the scabbard in his hands and giggled knowing that Aonda had given him his old sword.

"Welcome home Naruto." She said gently as the blond began walking at a slower pace.

"I'm back!" he called as Aleandra walked up to him and embraced him. "I'm going to prepare for tonight." He said as she pulled back and nodded.

"Go and change, I'll prepare some food for the trip." She told him as the blond nodded and walked inside, going to his room. Aleandra smiled as she watched him go, she hoped that they will be alright; they would be gone for a few weeks.

**xXx**

As the clock hit eight Naruto was ready to leave, he checked his backpack and strapped the scabbard – and sword – to his waist. He bid his farewells to his adoptive mother and ran out the door, he said he'd meet up with Yuna at the village exit.

As he reached the exit he saw Yuna there waiting for him, the girl looked up as she heard movement and smiled upon seeing the blond. Naruto ran up to her and embraced her, giving her a kiss on the lips.

"Did I make you wait?" he asked, Yuna shook her head smiling.

"You were right on time." She replied kissing him. The blond grinned as he hugged her tighter for a moment before letting her go.

"You ready?" he asked, Yuna nodded making the blond smile, he took her hand and left with her, heading towards the town below them.

The trip to Tatcha was uneventful, despite the fact that it was dark outside and that there was barely any light no wild life made itself present – or even bandits. On their trip to Tatcha they encountered a Royal Guard patrol. Naruto was happy knowing that the Royal Guard started patrolling the roads; a few months ago there had been a few incidents on the roads with thieves.

Upon reaching Tatcha the couple made their way to the station arriving with a few minutes to spare. They boarded the train and made their way in the wagon they were supposed to be in, Naruto smiled seeing that the wagon wasn't full, there were only a few people in it.

He wrapped his arm around Yuna's waist and walked to one of the compartments, once inside he placed his backpack on the seat next to him, Yuna taking a seat to the blond's right.

"Excited?" he asked as the girl nodded vigorously. Naruto chuckled bringing her closer to him and kissing her on the head.

"When will we arrive?" Yuna asked looking up towards him.

The blond pondered for a second, trying to remember the schedule. "If nothing goes wrong, tomorrow morning." He replied making her smile. "You should rest." He whispered.

She nodded as she leaned in his arm and closed her eyes. Naruto smiled, he placed his head on top of hers and looked towards the window. A few minutes later the train started moving and in a matter of seconds the train station was replaced by the green landscape. He could see the mountains not far and he could even see a part of the castle from here.

The blond moved his hand on his pocket and took out a book, he looked at his girlfriend who was already fast asleep. Naruto chuckled as he opened his book and began reading, he didn't feel tired at all – a benefit of once being a jinchuuriki maybe – he was more than sure that he wouldn't sleep tonight.

After three hours the blond was still up, reading his book. The train suddenly came to a halt, he looked up from his book but he couldn't see where they were. He could hear people outside, they were most likely in a train station, they had to make a total of five stops in other cities on their way to Onibus.

With a shrug he turned his attention back to the book.

"Excuse me, are these seats taken?" he heard someone ask after a few minutes, he looked up and saw a girl – younger than him by at least three or four years – looking at him with a smile on her face. She had short white hair and blue eyes, a bit similar to Naruto's eye color.

Naruto shook his head as he smiled back at her, the girl smiled as she motioned for someone to come over and then sat down in front of the blond. A few minutes later another girl and a boy appeared, taking a seat next to the young girl – they were both older than her by two years it seemed. Both newcomers had similar hair and eye color as the girl that arrived before them.

The blond raised an eyebrow as the elder girl scoffed when she looked at him – he wondered what was her problem – the male looked at him and smiled, giving a small nod of acknowledgement – or gratitude, he wasn't sure.

"Nee-san…" the younger girl whispered "…don't be mean with everyone you meet." She whispered harshly, the blond grinned as he raised his book up, ignoring the elder girl.

After a few minutes of silence the younger girl broke it. "Umm…are you two together?" she asked looking towards Yuna. The blond smiled and nodded at the question.

"She's my girlfriend, we're going to Onibus to see a play." He replied as the elder girl rolled her eyes.

"Really?" the younger girl asked, or more like squealed. Naruto wanted to laugh, it was quite funny seeing that reaction, but he didn't want to offend the girl in anyway so he just smiled and nodded. "That's so sweet…" she said sighing a bit. "…I wonder if I will get to be like that."

"Lisanna." The elder girl looked at the younger with a pointy look "There's no need for that, it's not going to help you in battles." She scowled as she turned to glare towards the blond. He looked at her strangely wondering what her problem was.

"Oh shush Mira-nee…" the younger girl said as she glared slightly towards her sister, she then looked back at the blond and noticed the hilt of the sword on his back. Her eyes widened as she saw it. "Are you part of the Royal Guard?" she asked with wide eyes, the blond looked at her strangely.

As he was about to reply the boy to the young girls right side spoke up. "Ah, I recognize the hilt. It's a lieutenant's sword from Castle Kimos."

"Wow! That means you're a lieutenant already!" the girl named Lisanna exclaimed "And you look so young…" she said with a depressed sigh.

"Something wrong?" the blond asked curiously, the girl shook her head before replying.

"No…I'm just wondering when I will get to be a higher rank…" she mumbled as the elder girl looked towards her with softer eyes.

"We are still too young, don't worry, we will get promoted later on." She said as the younger girl sighed and then nodded.

"Ah…where are my manners?" she exclaimed before laughing at herself "We never properly introduced ourselves." At this the elder girl rolled her eyes and looked away, not even caring. "I'm Lisanna, this is my older sister Mirajane…" she said pointing towards the girl "…she's a bit shy around strangers." The girl giggled making her sister look at her with a small glare.

"I am not." Mirajane hissed making Lisanna laugh at her reaction.

"And this is my brother, Elfmann." The boy in question smiled and nodded towards the blond.

Naruto returned the smile and introduced himself. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, my girlfriend's name is Yuna." He replied as the girl in question mumbled in her sleep and moved closer to the blond, Lisanna giggled a little at that. "So…are you part of the Royal Guard as well?" he asked.

They looked at him strangely before Elfmann answered his question. "No, no…we are mages." He stated making the blond hold his breath a little, something that went unnoticed by the three mages. "We're from Fairy Tail." He continued as his little sister nodded.

"We're going on a mission." She told him with a smile.

"Don't tell him that…" Mirajane whispered harshly "…what if he is actually a mage as well and stole that sword to trick others?" she asked making the younger girl sigh.

Naruto shook his head as he raised his book in front of him and continued reading. "I'm not a mage, don't have any powers…you don't have to trust me, but it is the truth." He replied ignoring the glare the elder girl sent his way.

"I'm sorry about that…" the younger sister apologized as she smirked towards Mirajane. "…I think she's actually jealous that the cute guy in front of her is taken." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, he heard the elder sister gasp and deny the claim, he laughed as he saw her face, she was blushing and trying to cover it.

Lisanna laughed at her as she tried to cover her face and glare at her at the same time. After that the blond returned to reading his book, having small conversations with Lisanna and Elfmann, her sister didn't say anything else during the whole trip – though from time to time he felt her eyes on him and each time he turned to look at her he would see her looking out the window.

The three mages got off the train at one of the towns before Onibus, they bid their farewells to Naruto – even Mirajane, though it was more like a whisper, he had trouble hearing it. An hour later Yuna woke up, he had fun telling her about his meeting with the three mages.

He wondered however how it would have been like if he had another type of magic, if he had something else – even if it was a weak form of magic – would he had been part of a guild by now? Naruto dismissed that thought however, he didn't want to think about mages and guilds, he had a dark secret after all, he didn't want anyone to find out about that.

Once they reached Onibus they left the station and began looking for a hotel to spend the night after the play, their train for Tatcha would leave only the next day – once again at night.

After hours of searching they managed to find a hotel not far from the theater where the play was going to take place. Naruto didn't like the way people looked towards him, he realized that most of them might have known where the sword came from – seeing as the mages knew and thought he was already part of the Royal Guard.

It did however present certain benefits, such as a discount at the hotel they would spend the night. Even though he tried to tell the man that he wasn't part of the Royal Guard there was no use, it seemed like all the man could think of was the future money he would make if more of the Guardsmen would come from their lieutenants recommendation.

Yuna didn't complain with getting a discount on the room, even if it was for one night and if that didn't bother her then the blond just dropped it, opting to ignore that people were considering him to be a high ranking officer.

Their stay in Onibus wasn't without incident however, after the play – when they were returning to the hotel – the blond stopped to grab some goods to eat tomorrow on the train, leaving Yuna alone for a few minutes. When he returned he saw her surrounded by three men, it reminded him of the cities back home – men preying on women at nights.

He had hoped that if they saw the sword – which he had carried with him – strapped to his back they would pull back, to his annoyance however they did not. They didn't recognize the sword, they did back off when he unsheathed his sword and threatened to spill their guts on the ground if they didn't leave.

Despite that minor incident, the blond had to admit that he had fun seeing a bit of the world.

**xXx**

"Alright men, stick together and follow me." The sergeant said to his men as he turned to face the mine's entrance. There had been a cave-in in a nearby coal mine, when people went to help the trapped miners they were attacked by strange creatures – or so they claimed.

The Royal Guard sent scouts to investigate, they returned with news that a few magic beasts were lurking through the caves making it impossible for the men to help the miners – if they were still alive.

This was Naruto's first mission ever since Ronda allowed him entry in the Royal Guard. The blond was wearing the Royal Guard standard equipment – specific to the castle they were stationed at. Said equipment consisted of a chain mail protecting his body, a simple metal helmet used by recruits, he wore simple leather pants and boots. He was given a long sword and a shield with the castles emblem on it.

The seventeen year old boy looked up at the sergeant as he opened the door leading into the caves. He shivered slightly, anxiousness he said to himself, he didn't want to screw it up and wanted to do this by the book. Like everyone else he unsheathed his sword and followed the sergeant inside.

The team consisted for five men in total, one of which was the sergeant that led them. Naruto was the youngest member and the newest addition to the Royal Guard. He had been welcomed with open arms, not because he was the adoptive son of the knight-commander but because he could stand his ground against most soldiers, especially the older ones.

"Naruto, Milos, check that tunnel." The sergeant ordered pointing towards a tunnel to their right. The blond and his comrade nodded as they moved forward, the rest of the team staying back, covering them.

Naruto looked towards his partner who took a torch out of his pack; the man lit the torch and nodded at the blond. The boy moved in front of Milos and began walking forward, paying attention to his surroundings.

They noticed the miners equipment scattered throughout the tunnel, a few stains of blood could also be noticed on the walls and on the ground. The blond came to a halt after walking for a few minutes, their path was blocked by rocks. A bit of light could be seen coming from the other side, through the cracks.

"Hello?" he called out hoping that the miners were behind the cave-in in front of them. They waited for a reply, the blond called out once more but no one replied. Looking back to his comrade they nodded to each other and turned around, going back to the group. Even though they had just entered the cave the blond had hoped that they could just grab the miners and leave, the scouts didn't say what kind of magical beasts were lurking in the caves, they couldn't see them properly.

The blond shivered slightly, he had a bad feeling about this mission. Ever since his encounter with that mage and his discovery about his magic powers he had played it safe. Even though only a year had passed since then he had been uneasy about everything happening around him.

"Report!" he heard the sergeant whisper in a harsh tone.

"Nothing but a dead-end there, sir!" Milos replied as the man nodded and ordered them to get back in formation, they began walking deeper into the mine, checking each and every tunnel they came across in hopes that they would find survivors or the beasts that lurked in the mines.

They began to wonder how deep the mine was actually; they had been walking for hours with no luck whatsoever, there were no signs of survivors or monsters. The sergeant looked at his men, he could see two of them getting more and more anxious as they went deeper into the mine.

The man suddenly raised his hand ordering his men to stop. They did as they were told, the sergeant looked around the corner and his eyes widened at what he saw. He pulled back and shook his head. "I think we found the … survivors." He said, the last word barely above a whisper.

Naruto knew what he meant, they were too late. "Naruto, I want you to go and check the bodies." The boy nodded as he stood up and walked past the group, rounding the corner. He covered his nose and looked away from the sight, the miners had been mutilated, their remains were scattered all around the place.

Shivering a little he walked forward and took out a folder from his pack. He opened it revealing several pictures, he looked through the pictures and then proceeded to try and find the heads of the miners. Each time he found the one he would make an 'X' over the miner's picture, signifying that he had been found but was dead.

The blond looked back for a second and saw the rest of the squad there, watching his back while he did his work. He turned his attention back to the remains of the miners and continued his work. He carefully stepped over the remains, moving around in the small chamber, there was no doubt that they had died at the hands of whatever was lurking in this cave.

As he moved in the middle of it he felt the ground shake, he moved to the wall to keep his balance, the last thing he needed was to fall in the pool of blood and littered organs. Slowly, everything began quiet again, the ground stop moving under his feet. He sighed in relief; he didn't know what that was – maybe the beast lurking in this mine? – but he was glad that the mine didn't cave-in on top of him.

The blond pushed himself away from the wall. "Naruto! Everything alright?" he heard the captain shout. He looked towards the man and nodded.

"Yes sir!" he called back, the man nodded and turned his attention back to the tunnels. The boy moved back in the middle of the chamber and continued his work, moments later the ground began shaking once more and he could hear several cracks. He dropped the photos and moved towards the wall, however the ground collapsed underneath him before he could reach the wall.

His scream echoed through the mine as he began falling. Moments later a splash was heard from below, Naruto swam up gasping for air as he reached the surface. He coughed a few times as he swam towards the nearby shore, dropping like a sack on the dry land.

The blond could vaguely hear someone call out for him, most likely the sergeant and the rest of the squad, wondering if he was still alive after that fall. A few moments later the calls stopped and all he could hear were the sounds of dripping water.

After a few minutes of catching his breath Naruto stood up, he looked around trying to see where exactly he was, however he couldn't see anything in the darkness. He cursed slightly as he looked around for his pack. Upon finding it he rummaged through it trying to find a torch.

The ones that he found were wet; he was unable to light them. Cursing slightly he checked to see if he still had his sword, the weapon was still strapped to his back. He smiled a little as he moved to the side, trying to find the wall; once he did he began moving forward, his hand still on the wall.

Slowly, his old ninja training began catching up with him, he had ignored it once he got accustomed to this new world, he didn't think he would ever need it, he wanted to start fresh back then. He stopped moving as he heard something else move in the cave he was in. Crouching slightly he tried to see what was in the cave.

A few moments later he could see a massive figure moving in the darkness, stopping at the pond he had fell in. The creature moved its hands in the pond, grabbing something from there. He then saw it bring whatever it fished from the pond up, a crunching sound reached his ears.

He was more than sure now that the creature was feasting on the remains of the miners that fell down in the pond with him. The blond slowly stood up and began moving away, the last thing he needed was to fight the creature in pitch blackness.

They boy carefully made his way through the darkness, it proved hard to move around the creature as it stopped eating on numerous occasions to analyze the surrounding area, as if it had heard him move.

After a several minutes the blond managed to find an exit, he carefully moved through the tunnel, he could see light not far from his location. Looking back once more he nodded to himself and began moving at a faster pace. Seconds later he was in a large chamber, illuminated by torches, mining equipment was scattered all around the place.

Naruto looked around the chamber, his eyes resting on a collapsed tunnel, there was a corpse there – half eaten. He looked around before moving forward towards the corpse, as he reached it he bent down and looked at it. He closed his eyes for a second, the scent of death was overwhelming, he then opened his eyes again and looked at the corpse.

The boy tried to figure out what happened to the man, before he died and got eaten. He looked at the collapsed tunnel, maybe the beast came from there? He had heard stories of monsters that lived inside the mountains, deep in underground tunnels.

His eyes widened as he heard footsteps and the ground began to shake a little. He turned around and saw a shadow coming out of the cave he was in a few moments ago. The blond looked around for a place to hide, he cursed as he stood up and ran to the end of the chamber, hiding behind a rock. First thing he needed to do was figure out what kind of creature they were facing.

He waited for it to come, to enter the chamber. His eyes widened as he saw the creature when it came into view. Its skin was gray as stone, with fiery red eyes and a jaw full of large fang like teeth; its head appeared to be covered in a bone like substance with two horns coming out of the side. Its body was covered in muscles, its arms were bulky. The creatures hands hand razor sharp claws, blood was dripping from the.

The creature stopped in the middle of the room and began sniffing the air, it looked around – the blond hoped that it wasn't trying to find him. From his first encounter he believed that the creature was actually blind. His eyes widened and he held his breath as the creature suddenly turned to look towards him location.

His heart began beating faster as the creature moved towards the rocks he was hiding behind. It stopped right in front of them, its claws grabbing the rocks as it began sniffing the air. A growl escaped its throat making the blond silently gulp. He nearly screamed when the beast's head appeared above the rocks, staring right at it. It roared as the blond scrambled to his feet and ran away, just in time as the creature smashed the ground where he once stood.

As he got a little distance from it he unsheathed his sword and turned to face it, but as the creature turned towards him, showing its stature his courage began to fade away. He didn't know how to face it; he wasn't unbeatable anymore, not like in the other world.

The creature roared making the blond move back a little, as the creature began charging forward he steeled himself, dropping in a defensive position. In mere seconds the creature was in front of him, it swiped towards the blond who moved his sword to the side, blocking the attack. The force of the swipe made his body move to the side.

The creature roared as it raised his right arm up to strike, Naruto jumped to the side as the creature slammed its claw in the ground leaving a large crack. The blond turned to face the creature and charged forward with his sword to the side. Before he could attack it however the creature moved its arm towards him, hitting him and sending the boy flying towards the wall on the other end of the chamber.

He gasped for air as he collided with the wall and crashed on the floor. With a growl he stood back up just as the creature was approaching him. He let out a battle cry and charged towards it once more, the creature swiped towards the blond, he jumped over its arm and turned his sword downwards. He stabbed it in its left shoulder making it howl in pain.

The creature started trashing, moving to the side and slamming in the cave's walls. It then grabbed the blond and slammed him on the floor; it raised its foot to crush him. Naruto's eyes widened as he rolled out of the way, moments later the beast's foot crashed on the ground making the chamber shake from the pressure.

He stood back up and looked towards the creature, he cursed as he saw his sword was still in its shoulder. He had no weapon with which to fight now. The creature moved forward once again, it swiped its claws towards the blond who ducked under the attack, he then rolled out of the way as the second attack nearly cut him in three.

The blond heard it roar before the cavern began to shake, he turned to face it and his eyes widened as he saw it grab a nearby boulder and lift it up. He cursed as he turned around and began running away, the creature threw the boulder, Naruto rolled to the side as the boulder crashed on the ground and rolled away.

He spun around and ran towards the creature, it might be big but it had slow reactions. The boy jumped on the wall and then towards the beast grabbing his sword, he began dangling as he tried to pry his sword from the creature's body. The fact that said creature was trying to grab him and slam him back on the ground wasn't making it easier for him to pry it out.

The beast suddenly roared as it managed to grab the blond, it began tightening his hold on him, trying to squash him. He gasped for air, he started struggling to in its grasp. Once again he felt the surge of power inside of him, the same surge he felt when he fought that mage. No matter how much he despised the idea of using it he needed to or else he would die.

His head snapped up as a black aura appeared around him, the creature hissed in pain as it opened its hands, the blond dropped on the ground with his sword in his hand. He looked up as he let the weapon drop on the ground, the boy bent down slightly and brought his hands to the side, a dark orb formed in his hands.

The creature shook its head and started moving forward once more, Naruto glared as he threw the orb towards the creature. The orb exploded as it connected with the creature sending it flying away and making a hole in the chamber. The whole cave started shaking; rocks began to fall on the ground.

Naruto grabbed his sword and moved forward, towards the location the creature had been sent flying. He grinned as he let his power accumulate around his body, he moved through the whole and arrived in another chamber, smaller than the previous one. The creature was laying on the ground panting and bleeding.

The blond walked forward and raised his sword; he turned it upside down above the beasts head. The black aura moved towards the sword, encompassing it. He looked at the creatures eyes as it tried to raise its arm up and grab him, without a second thought he slammed the sword in its skull.

A beam shot up as the sword connected with its skull, Naruto raised his hand to his face to cover himself from the light. The beam created a small explosion throwing the boy away. He crashed on the ground a few feet from the beast's corpse. Looking up his eyes widened as he saw the beasts body was on fire, the fire however was not normal, it was green.

The beast began to stand up, its eyes glowing green now. He gasped as he moved backwards, skeletal hands shot up from the ground around the creature. "Oh no…don't tell me…" he mumbled to himself.

He was cut off as the ground began to shake, the beam died down; Naruto moved back as the cave began collapsing. He stood up and turned around, running away and avoiding the falling rocks. He jumped and rolled on the ground avoiding a massive boulder. The ground stopped shaking, a sigh escaped his lips.

The boy raised his sword up and looked at it, there was no aura around it anymore. A frown appeared on his face, for a second there he let himself be consumed by the dark power, he lowered his sword and began to wonder if the beast was dead now from the cave-in.

He stood on the ground, waiting for what seemed like hours. He had no map and the mine was complex, you could get lost in it easily. In the end, his squad had found him, when he told him that he took down a beast that he had never seen or heard of before they all wanted to know where it was.

Naruto told them it fell in another cave-in, deeper into the mountain; they didn't ask anymore questions after that, he was more than sure they didn't really want any proof to show the commander, the remains of the miners were more than enough to show that they didn't die from a cave-in and mythical – or magical uncategorized – beasts wasn't uncommon.

Once they reported to the commander they were ordered to supervise the destruction of the mine, the man didn't want whatever else was lurking in it to come out at night and kill people in the nearby villages.

During questioning Naruto stood quiet when they asked how he took down the beast, all he told them was that he made it use its force to create a cave-in so that it would kill itself. No matter how much he lied he knew it was the right thing to do, it was either lie or tell the truth and get sentenced to death.

**xXx**

Stories began to spread from the small villages in the mountains, stories about a Royal Guard recruit that singlehandedly took down an uncategorized beast that had slaughtered an entire mining team. The stories later on turned from reality into fiction as the beast was replaced by other creatures, known – or unknown – some stories even told of the recruit that killed a demon from Hell.

For once Naruto didn't like the glory he was receiving, the attention he was getting. It was true that he had killed the beast, but he used his powers and he felt like something was wrong. When the beast stood up once more and skeletal hands began popping from the ground, he couldn't shake the feeling that he should have investigated more, that he should have tried to tell Ronda what happened – a little bit of truth.

He shook his head as he tried to dismiss the thought; he looked up – at the end of the table – and smiled towards his girlfriend.

"Something troubling you?" she asked tilting her head to the side.

He shook his head as he looked out the window, only three days had passed since his mission – the sergeant was extremely pleased with him – and he hadn't been feeling well since then. He had an itching feeling that something might happen sooner or later.

The blond looked towards his girlfriend who looked at him with concern, he stood up and walked over to her taking her hand into his. Naruto looked in her eyes, she looked at him curiously, wondering what he wanted to say – or do.

"Yuna…" he started "…can I ask you something?" he asked as the girl smiled.

"You know you can ask me anything." She replied lovingly making the blond smile slightly.

"If anything will happen in the future…" he paused as he began thinking, he shook his head as he let go of her hand and moved back.

"Naruto?" she asked concerned, standing up and moving towards him.

"No…never mind…" he replied turning around and walking towards his chair "…I'm just tired, been thinking too much…that mission was more than I could handle for a first job." He told her as she walked towards him and embraced him.

"I understand…but if you want to talk about anything, I'll be here…" she said as he placed his hands on her and closed his eyes, enjoying her warmth.

"I'll be on guard duty tonight…" Naruto said after a few minutes.

"Alone?" she asked giggling slightly, the blond smiled knowing what she was implying. He shook his head however.

"No…Kazu will be with me." He replied making Yuna sigh sadly. "Don't worry, there will be time for that later." He told her as he grabbed her and pulled her in his lap, making her yelp in surprise. The blond kissed her before hugging her, he silently prayed that nothing bad would happen in the future.

Yet, despite his prayers, at nights he could still hear the damned fox, he could still hear it taunting him and cursing him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: **Some knew it was bound to happen, I'm sorry that I did this – and I'm referring to the fact that I added that many OC's – but I wanted to build a more believable story. Also, if the story is progressing too fast do tell me.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 4**

"That stuff will kill you one day…" Naruto whispered to his partner who inhaled smoke form the cigar only to exhale it a few seconds later.

"Maybe…" he replied nonchalantly as he placed it back in his mouth. "…but until then I might as well enjoy it."

Naruto shook his head as he turned his attention back to the road in front of him. Several months had passed since his first mission. Since then he had taken more missions with his squad eventually getting promoted to sergeant. Even though he had been promoted Ronda didn't let him lead a squad stating that he had much to learn before doing so. He didn't complain with that, his previous leader – despite being just a sergeant – had more experience and had been part of the Royal Guard for a long time. He would have to spend a few years before he could have a squad of his own – he was in no hurry however.

The blond was currently on patrol, he and his friend Kazu were supposed to patrol the road between Tatcha and Castle Kimos. It was their turn to patrol the road, not that they minded, it was better than guarding the walls of the castle. Naruto didn't understand why they had to guard the walls, no one was dumb enough to try and sneak in a Royal Guard castle, there was no point in doing so.

Kazu was older than Naruto by two years, he was taller than him by half a head, he had brown hair and green eyes – a very strange combination in Naruto's opinion, he even voiced it once and his friend just shrugged it. They met when Naruto was introduced to the Town Guard, back then Kazu took missions in helping the Town Guard watch over the village at night.

"So I heard the commander talking." Kazu said after a moment of silence, the blond raised an eyebrow and looked at him wondering what his father had been saying. "He's already planning on your marriage." He said with a shit-eating grin.

The blond's eyes went wide, before they narrowed as he looked at his friend. "And how do you know that?"

"Like I said…" Kazu replied placing his cigar back in his mouth. "…I heard him talk."

Naruto glared towards him. "Even if he said that, isn't it too soon? Heck, with whom would I marry?" he asked as the man next to him began laughing.

"You've been dating that girl for quite some time now…" he started only to heard the blond mumble 'not that long' "…besides, I heard the commander married when he was twenty."

The boy looked at him with wide eyes; that he didn't know. In the old world it was common for ninja's to marry at a very young age, he didn't expect it to be the same here.

Kazu nodded to himself as he saw the look in the blond's eyes. "There are dangers in being a Royal Guard you know." He said as he threw the cigar on the ground and stepped on it, putting it out. "You had your near death experience right?" he questioned as Naruto looked away and nodded grimly.

"Well…you have the reason right there, tomorrow you might get a mission to clear a bandit camp, they might be stronger than the team sent to clear them and you might all die." Kazu said as Naruto shook his head, it sounded horrible – but it was the truth, he nearly died fighting that creature in the caves months ago.

"Still, I don't think it would be a good idea to marry now…I mean we've been dating for two years only." Naruto replied as his partner scoffed.

"Seen others marry after dating for only a year…" he told him "…besides, its how things work around here."

Naruto shrugged, he wasn't planning on marrying yet, he was sure that Kazu was just toying with him to get the reaction he wants. He looked up, they were getting closer to the castle.

"Ah…just a few more hours and we can get some rest." Kazu sighed as the blond nodded in agreement; they had been patrolling for eight hours – again with no action whatsoever. "By the way, you're birthday is coming up right?" the man asked as Naruto grinned and nodded.

In one week he would turn eighteen, Yuna had told him that she had something special for him this year; he wondered what she would give him. Last year she had bought him several books from the author he liked and a pendant that he always wore around his neck. He sighed as he raised the torch higher to look around, he had heard something move.

Moments later a fox jumped in front of them, Naruto nearly screamed as he saw it. The fox had a rabbit in its mouth; it looked at him for a few minutes, not moving. It then looked away and jumped in the bushes. Naruto heard Kazu sigh in relief.

"Man I almost shot an arrow at that damn fox." he growled as he walked in front of the blond. "I wonder what's it doing here, in the open." He muttered to himself, Naruto didn't pay attention to his mumbling however.

He brought his hand to his chest to calm himself, it was just an ordinary fox – he kept reminding himself in his mind – but even so, his partner was right. A fox in the open was uncommon, even if it was out hunting, they tended to avoid humans. He couldn't help but wonder, if it was some sort of omen. His grandfather kept talking about omens when he was alive, he always dismissed them saying they were just superstitions – he wondered however, if they were real.

**xXx**

Crickets could be heard chirping in the night, Naruto sighed as he leaned against the wall of the gatehouse. He moved his hand in his pocket and took out a cigar, Kazu had placed one in his pocket when he wasn't looking, no matter how many times he told him that he would never start smoking the man kept saying that one day he would use at least one.

He grinned a little, maybe on the battlefield before dying, like in the stories he keeps reading. It always fascinated how authors portrayed heroes, how authors made heroes die. There was never a dull moment in tragic stories, though he didn't read many of those – they were too tragic for his taste.

Naruto placed the cigar back in his pocket and looked up at the moon, it was close to midnight if he was right, in a few minutes it would be the 10th of October, his birthday. The boy lowered his head and looked to his left, beyond the gatehouse, Kazu was sitting there playing cards with a fellow Guardsman and smoking like there was no tomorrow.

After his patrol last week he had been allowed some time off, he had been patrolling and doing missions the entire month and it seemed like Ronda wanted to let him enjoy some time with Aleandra and Yuna. The poor commander had been stuck in the castle the entire month, filling papers, giving orders, meeting with messengers from the council – he didn't really know what they wanted nor did Ronda want to tell him.

He spent the week helping around the house and with his girlfriend, he tried to figure out what she would get him this year but his efforts proved to be in vain as she kept quiet. The only thing she said was that he was going to like it, sometimes he hated being kept in the dark. And now that the day was getting closer he could barely keep his excitement in place and could barely focus on the task. All that he wanted was for the entire shift to end.

He cursed Ronda a little, he was more than sure the commander had placed him on guard duty before his birthday so he could prepare something for him, after all, he had left the other day going back home. He didn't say anything, Ronda did deserve some rest after an entire month of being stuck in this place, he just hated that the man placed him on guard duty on that particular day.

"Hey Naruto!" he heard Kazu shout, the blond sighed as he looked towards him.

"What?" he called back, he tried to keep his voice down to a minimum, the last thing he needed was for his voice to echo through the empty courtyard and wake up one of the officers sleeping in the guardhouses.

"Come play a game!" the man called as the guardsman next to him nodded and motioned for the blond to come.

He sighed knowing that if he didn't go they would just continue shouting until he did. He pushed himself forward and turned towards them, he walked over to the two guards and leaned against the wall waiting for them to finish their game.

Naruto grinned as he saw his friend use the same old dirty tricks to win, they weren't playing for money – which Naruto was glad – but even so he still didn't understand why Kazu always cheated at cards. He kept his mouth shut however, he learned that it was best not to rat out a friend for you might need him sooner or later.

The boy shook his head as Kazu cheered for his win, the guardsman in front of him simply sighed. As Kazu began to rearrange the cards again Naruto turned to look at the road leading towards the castle, he looked towards the mountains and he could see some lights in the distance.

Slowly, he pulled himself away from the wall and turned to look at the mountains, there was something strange about the large number of lights in the distance. He wasn't sure where his village was, or where the rest of the villages were located – he was bad at figuring out the location of anything without a map.

"Kazu…" he whispered as the man looked at him and then resumed handing cards to everyone "Kazu…" the blond whispered harsher this time.

"What?" the man asked annoyed.

"What's with all the lights?" Naruto asked as the man stood up a little and looked in the distance, he shrugged dismissing them.

"Probably a funeral, pilgrimages…don't think it's something to be alarmed of." He replied as the guardsman looked in the distance as well, he had nothing to add however as it was something new to him as well it seemed.

"Shouldn't we … wake up one of the officers and ask?" the blond inquired as Kazu stopped dealing the cards and looked towards the guardhouses.

"Probably…" he muttered.

Naruto turned and looked towards the guardhouses, he looked at the guardsman and nodded. The man stood up and ran on the wall towards the stairs, the crickets stopped chirping as the man left, there was no sound whatsoever. Kazu stood up slowly and looked around with wide eyes.

"Why…" he started as Naruto looked around as well.

"Its…quiet…" he whispered, there was absolutely no sound, not even the wind could be heard.

Suddenly they heard something approaching on the road, their heads snapped in the direction of the sound. Naruto moved towards one of the torches and picked it up, he lifted it in front of him and shook it several times. If it was a night patrol they would light their torch and wave it up in similar fashion – some patrols tended to work in complete darkness, hoping to catch any bandits or thugs by surprise.

Naruto moved the torch left and right one more time, the footsteps were getting closer but there was no reaction from whoever was approaching. He looked at Kazu with the corner of his eyes; the man didn't need to be told what to do as he had already readied his bow, aiming down the road.

Seconds later a man appeared in the light, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw him. The man was covered in blood, his face barely recognizable. He looked up towards him and fell to his knees.

"The village…" he whispered in hoarse voice. "…it's being attacked…" he finished, crashing on the ground face first.

Naruto's eyes widened at the news, Kazu had already reacted and jumped down from the wall in the haystack below. Moments latter the alarm echoed through the darkness, Naruto however stood rooted in place at the news, before the man collapsed on the ground he recognized him. It was a fisherman from his village.

The news that his village was being attacked rooted him, his family was there, his lover was there, they were all in danger. Slowly, he could hear some of the officers screaming, yelling at the awoken soldiers to grab their gear and prepare for battle. Most likely Kazu had told them what was happening, the bell was still ringing, it was procedure. Even after everyone was notified of the news the alarm would still need to sound until everyone was in position, ready to fight.

Naruto however didn't wait for everyone to get ready, he turned around and ran in the gatehouse, he grabbed the mechanism and began turning it, raising the gates. When he could not turn it anymore he ran back outside and jumped down in the haystack. He got out and ran towards the gatehouse, he could vaguely hear the officer call for him ordering him to return, he didn't however, his heart was racing. He needed to get back home as fast as possible to save everyone, he couldn't imagine loosing anyone.

"Uzumaki!" the officer called out, Kazu looked towards the retreating form of the blond while still pulling the alarm, he looked up towards the moon and scowled.

"Poor kid…" he mumbled "…past midnight."

Naruto ran through the woods taking the shortest route back home, he might not have a map but he now knew where his village was. In his mind he kept praying that everyone was alright, that they all made it out safely. He was more than sure that his mother would be safe, Ronda was there after all, he prayed for his girlfriend to be safe.

The blond instinctively began pumping his magic in his feet, a black aura formed around them. With each step he took he left a burn mark on the ground and at the same time his speed increased. He ran through the forest, jumping over cliffs and rocks with great speed, he didn't even notice that however, his mind was blank and his heart beat faster than ever – because of fear.

Slowly he could see the lights in the distance intensifying and with that he could hear screams echoing in the night. For a second he stopped as he heard the screams, filled with pain and terror, he shook his fright. Without a second thought he began running once more, he left the forest, reaching the road once more.

The blond began running up the road, his village was in the distance. As he got closer the landscape began to turn, the wheat farms were on fire, the wheat burning. He could see charred corpses laying on the ground, farmers that tired to make it out alive.

He came to his senses as he saw something the distance, the blond began to slow down as the noticed the Town Guard, one of them aiming a crossbow at him. As the man recognized the blond he lowered his weapon, his face held surprise.

"Naruto?" the man asked "How did you get here so fast?" he questioned as the blond stopped in front of him, panting heavily. He looked around with wide eyes, fear in his eyes. There were many people laying on the ground, moaning in pain, others were crying – some over the corpse of a deceased man, or woman.

"I ran…" he replied shakily, there were very few survivors, only a quarter from the entire village. He dreaded to think what happened to the rest. "Where is father?" he asked looking up at the man.

He looked towards the village and pointed at the man standing behind the makeshift barricade. The blond walked forward, passed the guard. Ronda turned his head slightly as he heard someone approaching, behind him his wife stood up as she spotted the blond and ran towards him, embracing him and crying in his shoulder. Then Ronda turned and his eyes widened as he saw the blond.

"Naruto?" he asked as he moved towards him and looked behind the blond "Where's…the rest?" he asked, the blond stiffened, for the first time in years he heard despair in the man's voice, that and fear.

"What's going on?" the blond asked in a shaky voice as the man grabbed his head, trembling slightly.

"Boy, where are the Guardsmen?" he asked harsher making the blond take a step back in fright, he was seeing a side of his father that he had never seen before.

"They are on their way…I ran as fast as I could when I heard the village was being attacked." He replied shakily as Ronda's eyes widened at the news. He turned around and began shaking his head mumbling incoherent words. "Father…where's Yuna?" he asked as he looked around.

The man didn't reply, it was his mother that answered his question. She slowly pulled away from him and replied in a shaky voice. "She's not here…I think she's still in the village, so is Maya." She replied, her eyes watering once again.

Naruto's heart stopped for a second as he heard that, he looked towards the village and then back to Aleandra. He shook his head as he stepped back a little, the woman extended her hands towards him, calling for him. The blond grinded his teeth as he looked towards the ground, he clenched his fists in anger.

Before anyone could react he ran forward, jumping over the makeshift barricade. He ignored Ronda who yelled after him, and Aleandra as she cried out his name, he ran towards the village to find his lover.

As he got closer the smell of death invaded his nostrils – as well as the smell of burned flesh and timber. He ran through the streets, he couldn't see anyone, only corpses of the villagers. Suddenly he heard a scream, he stopped running and moved towards a nearby building, he looked around the corner and his eyes widened at what he saw.

He saw the attackers; he saw who was attacking the village. In front of him was a woman, laying on the ground, her arms and legs impaled by swords. Above her were ten skeletons, they were looking from one another, crackling as if talking to each other. The woman screamed as one of the skeletons looked towards her, it raised an axe and lowered it on her body cutting her in half from her stomach.

The blond moved back covering his ears as the screams echoed in the night. _"This isn't happening, this isn't real…"_ he kept repeating in his mind, if it was a large mercenary army or bandit army it would have been different – better. But this, it was his worst fears come true.

As another screamed pierced through the night his head snapped up. "Yuna…" he whispered to himself, it wasn't her that screamed but the scream brought him back to reality, making him remember what he was doing here in the first place.

He grit his teeth as he pushed himself away from the wall and began running down the street once more. He turned around a corner and moved his hand in front of him, he placed it on the skeletons shoulder and pushed himself up, he jumped over the skeleton landing on another ones head, once more he jumped landing behind them.

Without looking back he stood up and continued running forward, he ignored the cries for help that he could hear, he ignored the skeletons that tried to chase him down or kill him with their bows. As he got closer to Yuna's house the ground began to shake, he could hear something big approaching.

Thinking fast he jumped over a fence and crawled towards the burning house in front of him. He stood up and moved towards the edge, he peered around the corner; there was nothing there apart from skeletons. He turned around and moved to the other end of the building, once more he peered around the corner, his eyes widened in fright at what he saw.

It was the beast he had slain months ago in the mine; he pulled away, his face turning into that of despair. It was his fault; the beast was here wreaking havoc because of him, because he didn't make sure to finish it off. He grabbed his chest as he tried to calm himself down, he looked around trying to remember where Yuna's house was. He looked around the corner again, the beast had left.

He took a deep breath as he pushed himself from the wall and continued running, her house was close, just a little down the road. As he got to her house he looked at the building, his heart stopped for a second as he saw the door missing.

Unsheathing his sword the blond moved forward, he entered the house and grabbed the hilt of the sword with his left hand as well, holding it with both hands. He was trembling, he could barely hold the sword up. Naruto looked around, the entire place was turned upside down, either they tried to fight off the attackers or the skeletons destroyed the place as they entered – or left.

He checked every room, the kitchen, the living room, her parent's room. When he entered that room however he pulled back, he saw her father with his upper half of body attached to the wall, his organs laying on the ground with his lower part. Her mother, Maya, was laying on the bed in a pool of blood, her head was pinned to the wall however.

Naruto brought his hand up to his face to hold himself from puking, not even in the war did he see something like this, when they killed they killed, they didn't mutilate.

Slowly, he turned around and moved towards the last room. The door was wide open, he saw the trail of blood leading in the room and he paused. He let his body drop on the wall next to him as tears began falling from his eyes. The boy moved forward, dragging himself to see the gruesome sight, he needed to confirm it.

As he entered the room he looked around, he saw her laying on the ground in a pool of blood. He dropped on his knees as his sword dropped next to him, he crawled towards her, tears falling from his eyes. As he reached her body he gently grabbed her and lifted her in his arms, he turned her head to face him. Her eyes were closed and a peaceful look was on her face.

"Yuna…" he whispered hoarsely moving his right hand over her face. "…wake up…" he said laughing once. "…come on, wake up please." He whispered as he began to move his body back and forth.

He couldn't accept what he was seeing. "I beg you…" he whispered, his tears falling her on her face. "…wake up please…" he begged as he brought her closer to him, hugging her. "…please." He begged.

His cries could be heard through the house, he cried as he knew that she was gone and that she wouldn't come back. He had dealt with death before, even the death of a loved one, but not like this.

"It's my fault…" he whispered as he hugged her closer to him and continued rocking back and forth. The beast, the skeletons, it was his fault; it was because of his magic.

He shouted to the heavens.

Minutes passed and Naruto didn't show signs of calming down, he continued to weep for his loss, begging her to wake up. Then he heard the beast roar followed by another pained scream. He grit his teeth as he looked up, his eyes – red from all the crying – held nothing but anger.

He looked down at the corpse in his arms and stood up with it, he walked towards the bed and lowered it. The boy looked at his deceased lover as she lay in the bed, with the peaceful expression on her face, it looked as if she had died in her sleep and the skeletons had dragged her from her bed around the house.

As he heard the beast roar again he turned around and walked towards the door, on the way he bent down and picked up his sword. He walked out of the house, he didn't care about anything now, he was going to make them pay. They might be his creation, they might have come to existence because of him, but he was going to make sure they would not live anymore.

As he left the house he twirled the sword through his fingers and stepped in the street. He looked around; several skeletons had noticed him and were moving towards him – at average speed. He turned towards them and moved forward, as they got closer he ducked under the first attack and grabbed the skeletons arm, he ripped it from its body and grabbed the mace it was holding. Finally, he raised the mace up and smashed the skeletons skull.

The blond raised his sword up paring the incoming attack; he spun around and slammed the mace in the skeletons head shattering it. He moved his hand to the side paring another attack and forcing the attacker's weapon down, he then raised his sword and lobbed the skeletons head off, surprisingly the body collapsed on the ground in a heap of bones.

His head snapped up as he raised his sword in front of him, an arrow hit the sword, it fell on the ground as Naruto slowly lowered his hand and charged forward towards the archer. The skeleton slowly pulled the string back and released another arrow, Naruto moved to the side avoiding the projectile. As he got closer he raised his left hand slamming the mace in the skeletons skull.

He turned around as the ground began to shake, before him stood the beast – its eyes glowing green and its body covered in green flames – with a handful of skeletons around it. Naruto twirled his weapons through his fingers as he glared towards beast and charged forward, said beast roared, it however stood its ground. The skeletons charged forward with their weapons raised in the air.

In mere seconds the small undead army collided with the blond, several heads were sent flying upwards as the blond decapitated them before they could even try and parry. He spun around slamming the mace in a skeletons head, he jumped over an attack and landed behind the skeleton. He spun around roundhouse kicking it, sending its head flying.

One by one the undead army began to thin down, the beast roared in anger, its roar echoing through the night. Ronda and the survivors looked up in fright as they heard the roar from their location behind the makeshift barricade. They saw the skeletons turn around and go back in the village; they wondered what was going on there.

Back in the village Naruto was making his way towards the beast, taking down each skeleton that kept appearing. Voices echoed around him, some begging him to save them, others cursing his existence. He didn't pay attention to any of them, he believed he was going insane – all because of the 'gift' the demon had left him.

He smashed his newly acquired weapon in a skeletons head; he spun around doing a complete turn and took down the skeletons around him, he stopped spinning and faced the beast, he glared towards it. His head snapped up as he moved his body to the side, several arrows flew past him. The boy looked behind him and saw the skeletons in the distance, he opted to ignore them, the real 'prize' was just a few feet away from him.

He charged forward moving his weapons to the side. As he got closer the beast swiped its claws towards him, he jumped over the attack and stabbed the beast with his sword in the chest. As the beast roared he moved his left arm back and then slammed his mace in the beast's chest making it take a few step backwards. The blond placed his feet on its chest and pushed himself away, the sword came out of its flesh.

He landed in front of the creature and looked up, the beast roared and slammed its fists on the ground where the blond used to stand, he had jumped out of the way before the attacked could hit. The boy ran passed its fists and behind the creature, it was turning around slowly, trying to catch up with him.

He jumped up slamming his mace in the beast's leg, it fell on its knee as he landed on the ground. Once more he charged forward, jumping and landing on its back. He impaled his sword in its back and began slamming his mace as well, he lifted the weapon above his head and repeatedly slammed it down. The beast roared as it stood up and began moving left and right, slamming its body on the nearby houses. Naruto grabbed his sword and jumped down as the creature let its body drop on top of a burning house.

He landed outside the house, he looked towards the creature, it was still breathing. As he turned to face it, the beast stood up and the ground began to shake, he looked to the side and noticed numerous skeletal hands coming out of the ground, it was summoning reinforcements.

The blond looked up and his eyes widened as the beast's fist connected with him, sending him flying to the streets. The boy slowly stood up, spitting blood as he glared towards the creature. It was slowly moving towards him with an army of skeletons by its side. He growled as he charged forward, jumping over the skeletons and ducking under its claws.

He slammed his sword in its hand making it roar in pain and lift its arm up. It was what he needed, as the hand passed by its head he took his sword out of the creatures hand, he began descending towards it. As he got closer to its face he readied his mace, once he was in front of it he slammed it with all his might making the beast take a few steps back.

Once more he stabbed the creature in the chest with his sword, stopping his fall. He looked up as he placed his feet on its chest and pushed himself upwards, the sword remained impaled in its chest. As he reached the creatures face once more he delivered a second attack, once more slamming his mace with all his might in its face.

The creature fell on its back, on top of a burning building shattering it completely. Naruto fell on the creatures face and lifted his mace up, he glared towards it as he began slamming his mace in its face, he continued to raise his weapon and lower it on its face completely destroying it.

The undead army stood unmoving around the corpse of the beast, even though the blond continued to slam his mace in its face the beast was already dead. The skeletons began to shake as they started crumbling, with the beast dead there was nothing to keep them moving.

Once more the night turned silent, the only sounds that could be heard were the blazing fire and the constant hits on the creature's flesh that the blond delivered. A green aura formed around the beast's body, it moved up towards the blond surrounding him and then vanishing, he didn't notice and even if he did he wouldn't care. He was focused on making sure the creature would never return.

After an hour of constantly slamming his mace on the dead beast's face he tired, he stood on its chest looking at the house before him with hollow eyes. He could hear someone approaching, the clanging of metal and the yells of the officers. The Royal Guard had arrived – a bit too late.

The scene the Royal Guard found when they reached the blond was something they could not describe, the boy was sitting on top of a giant creature which stood in the middle of a large pile of bones and discarded weapons.

Ronda called out for the blond, when he turned the man took a step back in shock as he saw the boy's eyes. Slowly, the blond stood up and retrieved his sword, he had left the mace in the creature's skull. The boy walked down from the beast but instead of walking towards the Royal Guard squad he walked to the house in front of him.

"Uzumaki!" the officer called out, a hand appeared in front of him, he looked to the side and saw the knight-commander shaking his head at him.

"Leave him." He told the man with a grim expression on his face, the man nodded as he turned towards the soldiers and ordered them to look for survivors and do a sweep of the area.

Ronda looked at the house as he heard the blond yell from inside – he was shouting 'why' to the heavens. The commander shook his head as he looked down at the ground, he then looked up at the massive corpse in front of him, he was amazed the blond took down such a massive creature by his own.

Once again the man looked towards the house and sighed, he walked towards it. Upon entering the house he looked around, the entire place was trashed, he followed his son's cries until he entered Yuna's room. He found the boy on his knees next to her bed crying his heart out.

Ronda spotted a letter on the nightstand, as well as a nicely packed gift; he walked over to the letter and took it. The man read a little and grimaced; he looked at the blond and walked over to him placing his hand on his shoulder. The boy didn't react to him, he began to wonder if he should destroy the letter or not.

He stood there for a few moments, looking at him and then at the girl. "Naruto…" he whispered as he raised his hand and looked at the letter "…I'm sorry." He finished placing the letter next to him on the bed.

The blond looked at it and then at his father who turned around and began walking away, he didn't want to be here when he would read it. As he exited the house he heard his anguished cry, Ronda grit his teeth as he tried not to cry. The letter was sent by him to her father, asking if he would allow the two to marry in the coming year.

"Maybe I should have burned it…" he told himself as he looked in the hallway, he looked down at the ground and continued walking away. He felt as if he had pushed the dagger deeper in his wound – he told himself that it was better for him to know now than to find out about that fact later on.

**xXx**

In three days the blond changed drastically, no one knew for sure if it was only because he lost his lover or if there was more to it, but the blond changed nonetheless. He became more military-like, his stance and posture made him look like a man that had seen death countless times, that had fought many wars and had seen death at every corner. His cheerful disposition vanished after the funeral, it was the last time Ronda and Aleandra had seen him cry.

Ronda didn't like the change; he didn't like the look in his eyes. He wondered just how much death he had witnessed, being a slave he must have seen many people die – he might have had friends that were killed for disobeying their masters. Her death might have been the last straw for him, but there was nothing that he could do. Aleandra tried to make him change back, but she was in grief as well - for the loss of her dear friend and for the loss of her daughter. The woman stood by the blond's side for those three days, never wanting to leave his side out of fear that he might leave and he might do something. The blond knew better than that.

Since the funeral three days had passed – a total of six days since the attack. Before the funeral he cleaned the house and spent the nights next to the girl, watching the body. He said it was tradition back home to watch over the dead for at least three days, he didn't explain what it meant but Ronda didn't inquire further. After the funeral he spent the next days on top of the beast he had killed, monitoring everything around him.

After two days they woke up to the smell of burning flesh, when they reached the location of the smells origin they found the beasts body burning and the blond throwing torches towards it. He argued when questioned that it was the same beast he had fought in the mines, that now he was making sure it would never return. He stood watching the corpse burn, making sure that it didn't get up anymore and continue its rampage.

Finally, after the week ended the Council sent a mage to analyze what he could of the scene. Ronda was surprised that it wasn't an official; they had sent a mage from a renowned guild in Fiore to deal with it.

The man was quiet during the trip, the only things he asked was when the attack happened and how many days had passed since then. He didn't want to know what attacked, or what happened, he said he would find out when he would reach the village.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the village the mage stopped for a second, he bent down and took a handful of dirt from the ground. He looked at it for a few seconds before standing up and walking forward, the village had been surrounded by wooden walls, Ronda ordered the Guardsmen to make them so that no one would enter the village at night and steal from the deceased.

At the entrance stood Naruto, strapped to his back was the sword he had received from Ronda – and the same one he used to slay the beast – in his hands he had a pike. He was wearing plate armor, on his head he had a metal helmet that protected the top of his head and the back.

Naruto lowered the pike in front of the mage as he neared the entrance. The mage – a man wearing a mix between dark blue and light blue robe, his face covered entirely by a cloth – looked towards the blond impassively.

"Stand down Naruto." Ronda commanded as he walked next to the mage "He's here to investigate the scene."

The blond looked at the man and then at the mage. He nodded once and pulled his pike back. It was then that the mage spoke up. "I heard that name before…" he said slowly as Naruto narrowed his eyes. "…you're the one that killed the beast, is that correct?"

The blond nodded once, not saying a word. The mage turned towards Ronda. "I'd like him to be my escort, I'd like to ask him some questions as well." He stated as Ronda looked towards the blond and sighed.

"Very well, Naruto you're dismissed from guard duty." He ordered. The blond saluted and said nothing as he turned around and placed the pike next to the makeshift guardhouse, the one that would be stationed to guard the entrance would use his pike – he never did learn how to use one after all.

Once that was done he turned towards the mage and motioned for him to enter, the man said nothing as he began walking forward with Naruto right behind him.

As they entered the village the mage stopped for a second as he felt a bit of magic still lingering in the air, he looked towards the blond with the corner of his eyes, he couldn't detect any magic signatures from him. Slowly he continued walking once more, looking at every building.

"The report said that undead ravaged the city…" he started as Naruto interrupted him.

"Skeletons." The boy said as the mage in front of him nodded correcting himself.

"And they were controlled by the beast you killed, is that correct?" he inquired, the blond nodded at the question but said nothing else.

Silence fell upon them once again as they made their way to the location of the burned corpse. As they reached its location the mage was amazed to see that the corpse was still burning, he then noticed the guardsman move away from him and to a nearby oil pot. The blond grabbed it and spilled its contents over the corpse; the flames roared nearly burning him.

The mage watched silently, amazed by what he was seeing. "The fucker just won't vanish…" Naruto said as he placed more wood under the beast and threw hay on top of the burning creature.

"Why is it on fire?" the mage asked as he moved around the creature, analyzing it.

Naruto sighed a little. "I killed it once, it came back, I killed it a second time, making sure it will never come back." He growled out as sat on the ground in front of the burning creature.

The mage did his work while the blond waited for him, he could sense large concentration of magic around the beast and now he could also sense something coming from the blond. It was the same type of magic that was radiating off the beast, on the blond it seemed much weaker.

He wondered if there was a connection between the two, he dismissed that thought however thinking that there was no way the blond would have summoned or created the beast. From the claims he knew the beast was a magical one – bordering demonic, once again from the descriptions – but there had never been records of the magic such beasts possessed to bring harm to a normal human.

He made a note however, something to give the Knight-Commander – to watch over the blond and report any anomalies immediately. Despite that he doubted that the young Guardsman had been affected by the beast's magic.

As night fell the mage had finished gathering everything he needed, to a normal human it would look like there was not enough material to find out what the beast was and what else it could do, but for a mage, there was always something they could use in their investigation.

He walked back to where the guardsman stood, he found him reading a book – a comedy – with a straight face. "You know…" the boy started as he flipped a page. "…I can't seem to find this book funny." He told the mage as he closed it "No matter how many times I read it."

The mage said nothing, the book was well known in Earthland many claiming it was the best out there and it could bring a smile to anyone's face. Yet seeing the boy with a straight face and hearing him say that, it proved to him just how much people could suffer after a disaster – it reminded him of the young ice user when he first joined the guild.

"It will pass…" he said slowly as he began walking away, the blond stood up and followed the mage, not commenting on what he had said.

Upon leaving the village the mage left a piece of paper to the knight-commander, he looked one last time towards the village and the 'hero' that defeated the monster. In his eyes, the boy didn't look like he wanted the title, he didn't look like he care – to the mage, it seemed like the boy was being consumed from the inside by that nights events.

Throughout the country, and later on in Earthland, all the Royal Guardsmen would end up hearing the boy's name, the boy that singlehandedly defeated an uncategorized magical creature, slaying undead monsters and saving a small mountain village. But to the boy, it would always fell like he had lost on that night.

* * *

**Note: **Yes, it was the 10th when it happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am late…oh well…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 5**

The blacksmith shook his head as he added the finishing touch to the armor he was making, a request from the newly promoted Lieutenant at castle Kimos. Usually he would have made him the traditional armor – the one he always made. But this boy wanted something different, more unique. When he saw what the boy wanted he did a double take, not only was it complex but with the limited resources he had he didn't know if he could succeed.

Much to his pleasure however he managed to create the armor. As he stood and looked over his masterpiece he realized where the boy got the idea from the armor. He shook his head a little, the knight-commander told him months ago what happened in the village, maybe the boy was exaggerating a bit. Even so, it wasn't his place to question the boy and his desire for a more unique armor.

He heard the bell ring; a smile appeared on his face as he stood up and walked out of the backroom. As he entered the shop his smile widened seeing the boy that who had requested the armor.

"Welcome back Naruto-san." The blacksmith started. "Just in time to, I finished adding the final touches to the armor." He told the blond as he motioned for him to follow.

He did as he was told and followed the blacksmith in the backroom, once inside the boy looked at the armor displayed in front of him.

"What do you think?" The blacksmith asked as the blond moved forward and touched the armor; he moved his hand over the chest piece and looked around it for a few minutes.

"Perfect…" he replied as he looked towards the man "…your skills amaze me." He told him.

The armor was painted black and was made out of steel plate, the gauntlets and greaves being no exception. The helmet had two eye holes and a face guard that had multiple holes to breathe through. The armor was designed differently from any other Guardsman armor; it resembled the skin of a dragon – a scale like design.

"So, want to try it out?" the blacksmith asked as the blond grinned in reply. "Guess I didn't have to ask that." He said as he motioned to the blond to step forward.

**xXx**

As the blond stepped out people walking past the smithy stopped for a second to look in wonder at the blond. He was wearing his armor, the helmet already on his head. The boy looked around, he could see clearly through the helmet and walk easily in the armor, he turned around just as the blacksmith walked out and pulled out a bag of money. He tossed it to the man who caught it with ease.

"Many thanks." The blond said as he turned around, the blacksmith smiled and nodded as he stood watching the blond walk off in the distance.

Many heads turned towards the blond as he walked down the street, it wasn't every day that you see someone like him walk down the street. No one recognized him in the armor, only the Guardsmen knew who he was due to the sword strapped to his back. He had a mace strapped to his waist and another sword strapped to the back of his waist, a special sword he used on rare occasions.

He could hear people whispering around him, some recognized the armor and wondered if there was a play in town, others were amazed by the design. The knight wasn't worried that he stood out in the crowd; he wasn't worried that he attracted attention – something a knight usually shouldn't do when on a mission.

The blond made his way out of town, heading towards the castle, while he had been promoted to Lieutenant he was still just a simple guardsman, today however was his initiation, he would become one of the knights. It was a request by the council, stating that someone with his skills and potential shouldn't be halted back by years of work as a simple guardsman.

Ronda had been reluctant about the request, but he knew that there was no point in denying the councils request, when they wanted something they got it. The nineteen year old blond had a record of successfully completed missions under his belt, he spent most of the time on patrols or missions available to guardsmen.

Over the course of the year he had managed to control his powers, even if it was just a little bit. No longer did it surface when his emotions got the best of him, though from time to time he could feel it trying to escape as if it had a mind of its own. He could feel it trying to take control over his system, it was like dealing with the fox all over again. In a way it brought a sense of nostalgia to him, though he hated the thought that he could barely control his powers.

He didn't try to learn it, nor understand it, he knew what it was capable of doing, or at least had a vague idea about it. But instead of having to deal with another undead 'uprising' he opted to ignore his powers and subdue them.

As the castle came into view he looked up at it, the sun was shinning behind the keep, he raised his hand up to block the light. He slowly made his way to the entrance, the guards looked at the blond in wonder, not recognizing him in the new armor. The blond raised his hand up and saluted them, they then noticed the sword on his back and saluted back knowing he had returned.

The guards moved out of the way letting the blond pass, once inside the sounds of battle reached his ears. He looked around and noticed several recruits fighting each other with blunted weapons while the officers stood and watched, monitoring their progress. Several recruits stopped their spar to look in wonder at him as he walked through the courtyard, even a few officers turned to look at him.

He grimaced a little, it was a bit too much; he knew the armor was very unique but he didn't expect such a reaction from everyone. The blond turned his attention away from them and focused on the keep, he was supposed to meet the knight-commander in his office, he would lead him to the place he would be initiated. From what he knew they would give him a test as well, the boy wondered what kind of test they would give him.

Upon reaching the keep's entrance he indentified himself to the guards, the men opened the door for him and saluted as he walked inside, they looked at his retreating figure admiring the armor.

Once inside the blond walked towards the stairs while admiring the scenery, he had seen it numerous times by now and yet he was still amazed by the keep's interior. Decorated with armors, a little furniture and several paintings, what impressed him the most was the large chandelier in the middle of the hallway.

He walked up the stairs towards the fifth floor where the office was, the keep was empty like always, very few Guardsmen patrolled the hallways of the keep, there was no point in patrolling them after all. All the goods, secrets and weapons were stored in another part of the castle, the only valuables here were a bunch of relics from the past displayed on armors and in glass on the walls.

After a few minutes the blond reached the fifth floor, he walked down the hallways towards the commander's office. This was the only floor that had a significant amount of guards, they made sure that no one tried to enter the office unannounced and that no one would try to steal documents. However, such an incident hadn't occurred for years, since before the defeat of the mage Zeref.

As he reached the door the blond took his helmet off and knocked three times, he heard the knight-commander telling him to come inside. He did as he was told, the blond opened the door and stepped inside the office. He saw the commander sitting at his desk, to his surprise he saw that the man wasn't alone. Sitting in front of the man was one of the council members, if Naruto was right his name was Siegrain.

The young council member turned his head slightly towards the blond and grinned. "Ah…the 'prodigy' has arrive." He said. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Naruto, have a seat." Ronda said looking up towards him, the boy did as he was told and sat down in front of the commander, not far away from Siegrain. "It's about your initiation…" the commander started. "…usually we hand our initiates a quest, something a newcomer to the ranks would be able to handle, however…" he paused and looked towards the councilman.

The mage in question simply smiled as if not noticing the commander looking at him. After several seconds the mage turned his attention towards the blond, his smile lessened a bit. "However we have a certain task that we would like you to take on…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Why me?" he asked simply as the blue haired mage chuckled.

"Well …we want to see what you are capable of, all we had seen so far were reports of your deeds." He replied as he turned towards the table and bent forward, he grabbed a dossier from the table and opened it. "Besides, we could use someone of your skills…you'd make an excellent addition to the Rune Knights." The mage stated as Naruto leaned in his chair and shook his head.

"Not interested." He replied drawing their attention.

"Naruto, do you know what you are passing out on?" Ronda asked surprised by the boy's reply. Said boy simply nodded as he turned towards him.

"I know, but I don't really care about that." He replied crossing his arms over his chest signifying that he does not wish to discuss about that. Yet the mage didn't care as he continued to try and change the boy's mind.

"I think you are judging too fast…" he started narrowing his eyes slightly. "…you could have better payment, better equipment, recognition, access to…" he was cutoff as the blond turned and glared at him, something that surprised Siegrain.

"Like I said, I don't care, I will take on the mission you want to give me but I will stay with the Royal Guard." The blond stated slowly, making sure the mage would finally drop the subject.

Naruto knew what the Rune Knights were all about, in truth he was a bit scared of the idea of being near one. He knew – or at least heard – that they can sense magic, to some degree, even if they weren't all mages. If they discovered his magic it would be the end of him, or at least the life that he had now.

Siegrain sighed as he backed down and leaned in the chair. "Very well…" he raised the folder up to his face and moved it around before tossing it towards the blond. Naruto caught it with ease, he looked at it and then back at the mage who motioned for him to open it.

The blond did as he was told, he opened the folder and looked at its contents, he raised an eyebrow. Apparently the council wanted someone to travel all the way to the islands of Ca-Elum and investigate a strange disease that has been affecting the population of a small village.

He scoffed slightly at that, such a thing seemed like an easy task, too easy. He looked towards the councilman wondering what the catch was, yet the mage stood there with a small smile on his lips, waiting for the blond to say something. Naruto looked back down at the papers in his hands and closed the dossier, throwing it back at the mage who caught it with ease.

"So…interested?" the mage asked as a grin appeared on his face "Or will you back down since its such an easy task?" he inquired further as the blond narrowed his eyes realizing what game the mage was trying to play.

"I'll do it…shouldn't take me more than three weeks." He said with a grin as the mage chuckled.

"Very well then…" the mage said leaning back in the chair, the dossier vanishing from his hands. "…you will report to your commander once you are done." He finished as he stood up and walked out the door without saying anything else.

The blond watched as the mage left the room, once the door closed behind him he turned towards his adoptive father. The man shook his head as he looked down at a few papers. "I have no idea what's going on in their heads…" he mumbled as he looked back up towards the blond "…you have your mission, its best you go and prepare for your departure."

Naruto nodded as he stood up and saluted the commander, he turned around and walked towards the door. Before he could leave however he heard the commander shout his name. The blond turned around and saw the knight throwing an item towards him, he caught it with ease.

Naruto looked at the item in his hand, a necklace with the castle's banner and a small design of a knight kneeling. "If any knights ask why you are there…show them the necklace" the man said as Naruto studied the item for a few more minutes, he nodded in the end and turned around, leaving the room. Ronda looked at his retreating form with a sad frown; he shook his head and turned his attention back to the papers in front of him.

**xXx**

The trip to the islands was mostly uneventful, only upon approaching the port city did the blond began to feel something was off. A dense fog surrounded the ship he was on, the sailors told him that the fog had been there for the past month. This intrigued the blond, yet when he asked the sailors if they knew why the fog had been there for so long they didn't have an answer to give him.

Some said it was the work of gods, others said it was the work of demons or mages, a handful however believed that the plague infesting the city and its surrounding areas was connected. He began to wonder if this was the connected to his mission in some way, or what exactly the council wanted from him on this mission.

As the ship docked with the harbor the blond disembarked and looked around, he could barely see what was happening a few feet in front of him due to the fog. A shiver went down his spine as he felt a presence behind him, yet when he looked behind he couldn't see anything out of place.

The blond rummaged through his pockets and took out a piece of paper, he unfolded it and read the instructions, he was supposed to meet a guardsman in one of the nearby inns. Naruto looked towards the workers that were unloading the cargo, he noticed some of them looking rather pale, he dismissed it however as he turned around and began walking away from the harbor.

He made his way through the streets to the inn where he was supposed to meet the guardsman; the blond carefully studied the area around him. There were very few people on the streets; the vast majority was pale and coughing constantly. The boy looked away and tried to steer clear of them, the last thing he needed was for the plague to hit him as well.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination, as he reached the inn the blond opened the door and walked inside. The smell of smoke and booze invaded his nostrils, he scrunched his nose as he walked inside the inn. Once again he pulled the piece of paper out and looked over it, he ignored the stares he was receiving.

He looked up as he heard yelling, he noticed one of the patrons forcing a pale man out of the inn shouting that they don't need the plague here. He watched as the patron threw the man out in the streets and shut the door behind him, the patron walked past the blond and looked at him with the corner of his eyes, immediately he averted them.

Naruto didn't stop the patron, it wasn't his business. He walked up to the bar and called for the man there. "I'm looking for man…" he stated placing the paper on the counter and gently pushing it forward.

The man looked at the paper and read the man on it, he frowned as he looked at the heavily armored soldier in front of him. "Good luck with that…" he said as he turned his attention towards a patron as he called out for him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, he opened his mouth to call out for the barman once more however the man turned to face him and leaned forward. "…I don't think you will get any answers of out of him…" he replied grimly.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked as the man sighed, his eyes narrowing slightly. The barman looked around before whispering.

"He caught the plague a few days ago, strange thing is that it tore him apart faster than anyone else…" he answered the blond as he shook his head "…last I heard he ran from the city and went into hiding in the woods, in a cave most likely." Naruto pulled back and raised an eyebrow not believing what the man said, it seemed unlikely for something like this to happen.

The man grinned and chuckled slightly as he turned around and left to serve his clients, the blond attempted to call him back yet the man ignored him. "Hey…" the knight in training turned his head to the right, a man was sitting at the corner of the bar motioning for the blond.

Naruto looked around and then back at the man who kept staring at him. A middle aged person, with a large beard, red eyes – he could only guess the man had been drinking a lot – and a woodcutter's hat on his head. He stood up and walked closer. "I heard you're looking for that guardsman…" he whispered as Naruto nodded slightly, wondering how the man knew this.

"Confused?" the man asked with a grin "I hear better than anyone in this town…let me help you…" he slurred out, the blond was amazed that the man could talk normally, he was reeking of alcohol.

"And how could you help me?" Naruto inquired narrowing his eyes, the man grinned as he got on his feet and moved closer to the blond.

He placed his right hand on the boy's shoulder and leaned forward, the blond glared at him. "I've heard…that the guardsman you're looking for went missing about three days ago…" he whispered. The man shook his head and closed his eyes. "His house is close to the Market District, right next to a bakery."

The man pulled away and walked back to his seat. "Good luck getting in however…" the man said as he crashed on his seat and grabbed the bottle next to him, drinking all its contents in one go. "…the entire place is infested." He finished with a slur as his head hit the table, falling asleep.

The blond looked at the sleeping man for a few minutes before bringing out a map; he scanned it for the Market District. After a few minutes he tucked away the map and walked towards the door, on the way out he turned towards one of the patrons and asked him where the bakery in the Market District is. The man tried to figure out why the blond would go to such a place, yet he never got the answer. He told the blond where the nearest one was and where he could find the rest.

As he stepped out Naruto brought his map out again, the guardsman's house was at the south-east entrance to the Market District, not far from his current location. He rolled up the map and placed it back in his pouch, he then made his way towards the guardsman's house.

The closer he got to the market district the worse everything around him got. There were next to no guardsmen on the streets, people were laying on the ground, either dead or on the verge of death, coughing, begging. The closer he got the weaker the blond felt; it was getting harder and harder to breath the air in the city. He ignored it as best as he could and pressed forward.

As he reached his destination the first thing he did was check the surrounding area. There were numerous people on the street, or more specifically their lifeless bodies. He began to question the situation and the guardsmen of this city, he began to wonder why no one bothered to take the bodies and give them a funeral or just burn them if they carried some sort of disease like the people in the tavern whispered.

Shaking his thoughts away he focused at the task at hand. He walked up towards the door and knocked three times, with a three second pause between each knock. It was the code he was instructed to use when going to the guardsman's house. The blond waited for a few moments before knocking a second time in the same manner. No one replied.

The blond slowly unsheathed his sword and moved back, he then ran forward and slammed himself in the door throwing it off its hinges. He stepped inside, a squeaking noise resonating through the dark hallway with each step he took. Once inside he paused, looking around. It seemed like no one had been here for the past few days – or maybe the past week? – dust had already started to settle on the furniture. There were no signs of struggle or anything strange in particular.

Slowly the blond started walking inside, his sword in his hand, pointing towards the ground. As he passed the kitchen he felt a chill run down his spine, he stopped and looked around, nothing seemed out of place. He turned around and continued to walk forward.

'_Turn around.'_ The blond tensed, he raised his sword up and spun around cutting the air behind him. He lowered his sword, there was nothing there. He began to wonder if he imagined that cold voice. The blond took a step backwards, then another. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, once more he spun around cutting the air. There was nothing there again.

He raised an eyebrow as he stood up straight, lowering his sword completely. He stood there in the hallway for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen, looking around cautiously. After waiting for several minutes he sighed and tried to calm himself, he was clearly imagining stuff, hell, he might have even caught wind of that plague – though he hoped not.

Once more he began to walk forward until he reached the stairs, he looked up and carefully began to climb, with each step he took he felt like the temperature began to rise, that was strange. _'Be gone!'_ the same ominous voice was heard, this time a powerful force threw the blond away making him crash on the ground, a slam was then heard.

The blond narrowed his eyes as he jumped back on his feet. He heard something heavy move behind him, he turned around and saw the furniture moving towards the door which was now floating in the air. The door slammed itself in its former place as the furniture hit the door, blocking it. There was no turning back now, he looked up towards the end of the stairs, whatever was up there it didn't want to be found. He gripped his sword tighter and began walking forward once more.

The temperature began to rise once more, he felt like he was walking through a burning building. He could feel something watching him, a presence taking note of each step he took, it unnerved him. As he reached the top floor he looked around, there was another hallway with several doors to the side, bedrooms, study room probably.

He walked forward towards the first door and placed his hand on the knob, he slowly opened the door and looked inside. It was a study room, the bookshelves were all empty and the books were lying on the floor, scattered, ripped to pieces. He noticed a quiver with arrows on the desk; the guardsman must have preferred the bow.

The blond's eyes widened as arrows started coming out of the quiver and floating in the air, he silently gasped as he slammed the door shut and moved backwards. Several thuds where heard and he could see a few arrows sticking through the door. There was something going on here, there was someone here that didn't want anyone to find it.

He turned around as he heard banging on the door to the end of the hallway, on the left. Naruto raised his sword up and slowly began walking towards the door. The banging increased with each step he took, it began to feel as the door would suddenly fly off its hinges. However, as he reached the door the banging ceased. He stood there for several seconds, waiting to see if the banging would resume, yet there was nothing, only silence surrounded him.

Taking a deep breath the blond opened the door and peered inside. It was the bedroom, clothes and bed sheets where littered all over the place. He scanned the area for any weapons, seeing none he cautiously stepped inside. He noticed a sheet of paper on the table nearby, he walked over to it and picked it up.

"_Item retrieved from the thief, I should probably return it to the Viscount…but…there's something…I just don't feel like doing it. No, I'll keep it, I'm sure the Viscount will forget about it in a few days."_

It was written by the guardsman most likely, he wondered though what item he had retrieved from that thief and why he kept it instead of returning it. He was snapped out of his musing however as he heard a loud bang. He turned around and noticed the door had closed. He walked towards it and placed his hand on the knob, he tried to open it, it wouldn't. He slammed into it, it wouldn't budge. Taking a few steps back he ran towards the door and slammed in it with all his force, the door still didn't budge.

The temperature then raised once more, a powerful light shinned behind him. He slowly turned around and his eyes widened at what he saw, a fiery vortex swirled behind him from the bed – or underneath it, he wasn't sure. A pair of eyes appeared in the vortex.

'_All living creatures must die.'_ The same voice echoed around the blond as the vortex began to take shape. The blond took a step back in shock at what he saw, before him stood some kind of flaming corpse. It had a helmet on its head and shoulder pads, its hands seemed to have some sort of gauntlet resembling a demon's hand, twice the size of its hand out of which a pair of blades came out. From its waist down the corpse had no body, a fiery vortex swirled under it.

The blond didn't have time to think as the creature lunged towards him, he jumped to the side avoiding its blades as they cut the door in three pieces. It turned towards the blond and screeched, he fell to his knees covering his ears as the creature continued to screech. The windows and vases began to shatter. As the noise began to die down Naruto panted and lowered his hands.

With a swift motion he grabbed the sword that was laying in front of him and raised it up, in front of him. A clang was heard, he looked up towards the creature as it growled, its blades trying to cut through the blond's sword. Naruto looked around, trying to find a way out of the sword-lock, trying to swipe the creature's feet was impossible, it had no feet.

The boy narrowed his eyes as he rolled to the side, the creature cut the floor where the blond once stood. Naruto got back on his feet and took his mace out, he charged forward with his mace raised, ready to strike. As he got close he jumped in the air, the creature turned to face him as his mace connected with its face sending it through the floor. The blond crashed with the creature through the floor, yet before they could even hit the floor on the first level the creature vanished.

Naruto landed on his feet and looked around for the creature. His eyes widened as he saw a large number of knives coming out of the kitchen and moving towards him. He wouldn't be able to outrun them, he stood his ground and moved his sword in front of him deflecting the knives. As the last on hit the ground the creature emerged from the ground behind the blond, it roared sending a shockwave that threw the blond towards the end of the hallway.

Flames erupted around the creature, the walls began to burn. Naruto watched in fascination as the flames consumed everything in a matter of seconds, the entire place was burning. His attention was drawn back towards the creature as it lunged towards him once more. The blond moved to the side hoping it would crash in the wall behind him, yet the creature fazed through it and appeared behind the blond. He spun around and blocked its blades before jumping backwards.

The creature charged forward once more slashing towards the blond, he parried the attacks and side stepped the last one, he moved on the offensive swinging his mace towards the creature. Yet the creature dodged his attacks like they were nothing, each time he was about to hit it the creature would faze out of existence and pop up a few feet backwards.

Naruto growled as he tried to cut the creature in half with his sword only to fail as it vanished before his attack could connect with it. He turned around and raised his sword parrying another attack, he dropped on his left knee as the creature added pressure to the attack.

The blond's attention was drawn towards the ceiling as he heard a crack, he noticed the ceiling giving in. Naruto rolled to the side as the ceiling burned down and the bed from the room above came crashing down on the creature. Naruto watched as it looked up towards the ceiling, not moving as the bed crashed on top of it.

Panting, the blond slowly stood up and walked towards the burning bed, he looked at it for a few seconds wondering if the creature really died from something like that. His eyes narrowed as he spun around deflecting a blade, yet the second blade managed to scratch him. He jumped away and glared at the creature that appeared behind him, he was right not to drop his guard.

He prepared for another attack, yet the creature stood there looking at him. For a second the blond wondered if it would ever attack or if it was waiting for him to make a move now. His eyes widened however when he noticed what was happening. Fire appeared around its blades, the creature lunged towards him swinging one blade at him, a wall of flame raced from its blade towards his location.

There was no way to dodge it, he was trapped between the crumbling walls of the building, he raised his hands in front of him, his blade positioned to parry the attack, his mace facing downwards, he took the attack head on. As the flames connected with him he was thrown back into the burning stairs. He groaned as he rolled on the ground, the heat was becoming unbearable.

His eyes snapped open as his battle senses kicked in once more, he raised his sword and parried the attack before it hit him. The creature growled as it moved its head towards him, the blond noticed the flames around the creature's blade were intensifying, his blade won't be able to stand the heat for much longer, it would melt sooner or later, he needed to find a solution.

His eyes narrowed as the creature raised one of its blades up, at the blond's face. He tried to move his left hand, he couldn't move his hand, something was keeping it in place. The boy didn't dare to look away, if he were to die he would die looking in his enemies eyes. The creature roared once more as it moved its blade for the final strike, yet before it could connect with the blond's head the creature stopped.

Naruto noticed the fire dying down, the creature stood frozen in place before it opened its mouth in a silent scream. It slowly started vanishing, consumed by its own flames it seemed. In a matter of seconds the creature was gone and the fire burning the house vanished with it. The blond looked around not understanding what just happened, he looked towards his left and freed his hand. He slowly stood.

"Quite impressive I must say." He tensed as he turned towards the source of the sound, at the end of the hallway stood a girl, no older than him holding a strange dagger in her hand. A corpse was present at her feet, judging by the armor it was the corpse of a guardsman. He instantly became alert. "Ah…don't worry about this…" she said with a small smile as she looked towards the dead guardsman. "...he's been dead for … quite some time." She finished.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded as the girl giggled as she shook her head.

"Is this any way to treat the girl that just saved you?" she asked tilting her head to the side. "There's no need to worry, I am…on your side…" she said, though it sounded as if she wasn't certain about that as well. The blond however didn't let his guard down, he tensed further as she began walking forward only stopping a few feet from him.

The girl looked at him, from top to bottom, she noticed the gash in his armor and moved her hand towards his wound, the blond instantly reacted and moved his sword at her throat. Her hand stopped midway as she looked up towards the blond with a small smile.

"I wasn't going to hurt you." She said as she took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest, the dagger still present in her hand. They stood in silence for a few; the blond took this time to look at the girl.

She was as tall as him, with medium white hair, silver eyes – for a second the blond thought they were slitted – and a rather pale complexion. He wondered if she was sick, yet by the way she stood it didn't seem to be the case. She was dressed in normal civilian clothes, he couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary from her, she looked like a normal – relatively – girl.

"Why are you here?" he asked looking at her in the eyes. The girl however just smiled and looked at him, not answering his question. "Why is that man dead?" he asked pointing towards the corpse of the guardsman.

The girl looked at the corpse with the corner of her eyes and smiled. "He was dead long before you came here." She replied before moving closer and closing her eyes, she placed her free hand on the blond's chest making him move one of his feet back and raise an eyebrow. She opened her eyes and pulled back smiling happily. "I was right…" she said as she looked at him in the eyes. "…you really are him." She whispered; Naruto barely heard her.

He wanted to ask her something else, the girl however moved back before turning around and walking away. "Hey!" he called out, the girl didn't stop however. "Stop right there!" the blond demanded "Who are you? What did you mean by who I am?" he asked as the girl stopped and slightly turned towards him, she smiled serenely as she answered his question.

"You will find that in due time…we will meet again and then…your questions will be answered." She replied as she walked out the door. The blond raced after her but as soon as he ran outside he couldn't see her anywhere. He looked around trying to find her, he ran around the corner, she wasn't there. The boy looked around puzzled, just who was that girl, what was with that dagger and where did that creature disappear? Did the girl kill it?

Only when he got back to the guardsman's house did he notice the green like fog was slowly vanishing. He then remembered the paper he had read in the house, about the item stolen from the Viscount. The blond looked towards the castle at the far end of the city and debated if he should pay the Viscount a visit and inquire about the item.

**xXx**

Naruto slowly walked up the large stairs towards the meeting room of the castle, he had decided to pay a visit to the Viscount after all. He had been surprised when the guards at the castle were informed of his arrival; the Viscount knew that he would come. He began to wonder how the man knew of this, if he had spies watching the people of the town all the time or if he was some sort of mage. He dismissed the second thought however, it was impossible for a mage to become someone of such high stature, while people tolerated mages they weren't left unchecked by the magic council nor were any let to take on any important titles without the King's and the councils consent.

As he reached his destination the blond paused, he looked around and wondered why there were no guards here. He shrugged the question however and walked towards the large door, he knocked politely and waited for the Viscount to answer. He heard someone telling him to enter, he did as he was told. The blond slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

"Close it please." The man stated, Naruto complied with the request and closed the door behind him. He then turned around and studied the room he was in. It was large, just as large as the interior training ground back at Castle Kimos. He wasn't that surprised however, this castle was larger than Kimos reflecting the wealth of the city. There were armor statues around the room, a large table in the middle of the room and a fire place at the far end. Portraits decorated the walls.

"It's nice of you to visit." He heard the Viscount, the blond turned towards him, he was standing in front of the fire place with his back turned towards the blond, his hands behind his back.

"Thank you for allowing an audience sir." Naruto stated as he bowed before him, the man said nothing as Naruto stood up straight and waited. Minutes passed and the Viscount said nothing, the blond decided to spark up the conversation yet he was beaten to it by the man before him.

"I'm sure you're here regarding the … incident with the stolen item." The Viscount stated calmly as Naruto acknowledge with a nod.

"I was wondering what item it was, how did it get stolen…" he stated as he brought his hand up to his chin and thought for a second "…and why the guardsman didn't return it when he retrieved it from the thief…" he mumbled to himself.

"The dagger is a cursed weapon…" the Viscount stated as if he had heard the blond's mumble, his eyes widened as he remembered the dagger the girl was holding. Naruto cursed knowing that a cursed weapon was now in the hands of a civilian. "…you need not to worry…" the Viscount continued "…she'll take care of it…" he stated darkly making the blond tense.

"I take it you know who that girl is…" Naruto said carefully, the Viscount however didn't reply to his question. Instead he turned around and walked towards the table, his face was hidden by the darkness, it was dark outside by now, the only light source in the room was the fire place itself.

"Tell me boy…how much do you know of magic?" he asked, the blond was taken back by the question. He thought for a second before answering everything he knew from the books he read.

The Viscount scoffed, clearly not impressed by the blond's answer. "As I thought, you people know next to nothing…" he said as he stopped midway in the room. "…and yet…I think you know more." He said making the boy raise an eyebrow.

Before he could answer however he heard something fly past him and hit the door behind him. He turned his head around and his eyes widened as he saw a dagger sticking in the door, he turned towards the man and dropped in a defensive position, he didn't even see the man move.

"Heh…" the man moved forward once more, as he passed through the moonlight the blond could finally see his face. A pale man in his early thirties it seemed, silver eyes, white hair. He paused, he resembled the girl he met today, however, unlike her he had a more royal look. He dressed more royal, he was the Viscount after all, but the way he walked, it just screamed royalty.

The man smirked; Naruto noticed his abnormally large canines sticking out. His entire senses screamed danger at this point, there was something completely wrong with the man before him. "I can smell the fear radiating off you." The man stated sniffing the air as if he was some sort of animal. He stopped walking and grinned in the darkness, the candles giving him a very scary look. "Are you afraid?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked as he moved his hand to his sword.

The man smirked before vanishing and appearing behind the blond. His eyes widened in fright, he barely saw him move. "I'm afraid…that all witnesses must be eliminated." He whispered, the blond's senses screamed for him to run, he jumped out of the way and ran towards the end of the room. He turned around facing the man once more. He hadn't moved from his spot near the door.

The man suddenly threw his robe away, the sound of a sword being unsheathed reached the blond's ear. "I liked how you fought…" he said slowly walking towards the blond "…I want to see…just how good you are with a sword before you die."

Naruto growled, he saw the man vanishing from one spot and appearing in another as he moved towards him, he was fast. There was no way he could keep up with him should he fight. He knew that the man wouldn't let him run away, he would stop him before he even tried to make a step towards the door.

The boy took a deep breath and calmed himself, he moved his hand away from the sword strapped to his back. He moved his hand to the back of his waist pulling another sheath forward, this would be the first time he would use this sword, he didn't use it against the creature back in the house as he didn't have enough space to maneuver there with it.

He stood unmoving, watching his enemy's movement and waiting for the right time to strike. His eyes narrowed as he spotted an opening and dashed forward at blinding speed, he appeared behind the man with his sword unsheathed, blood dripping from its tip. The man moved his hand towards the wound and checked himself.

"Impressive…I've never seen a sword like that before." He stated with a tinge of awe in his voice. The blond towards him and assumed an unknown position to the man.

"Half Nodachi." He answered as he charged forward at blinding speed once more. This time a clang resonated through the room, Naruto appeared in front of the man, his sword held back by the man's sword.

"Such an interesting name, first time I heard of it." He whispered. "And your movement, its much different from the one you used when battling that Fire Wraith." He moved his sword to the right forcing the blond to mimic his moves, he then kicked the blond in the chest making him gasp for air and stumble back.

The man didn't give the blond time to recuperate; he moved forward and swiped with his sword. Naruto ducked under the attack and attempted to slash him with his own sword, the man however vanished and appeared behind the blond. He kicked the blond in the head sending him crashing in the table, breaking it in half.

Naruto groaned, his eyes then snapped open as he rolled out of the way, a clang was heard as the man attempted to cut him open. He jumped back on his feet and dashed out of the way, moving towards the windows. The blond turned to face the man again, yet he wasn't there. The blond raised his sword above his head and took careful steps to the side, he scanned the area around him for the slightest move.

His noticed something moving in the shadows, he didn't act yet. The boy waited a bit more, he could see – or so he believed – the man moving in the darkness. He tried to find a pattern to his moves. After a few seconds the blond dashed forward, a clang was heard in the room as the two swords connected, Naruto spun around and began slashing left and right at blinding speed. The man parried the attacks like it was child's play.

The blond suddenly side stepped and blinding speed, he appeared to the man's right side and slashed at his feet. The Viscount jumped in the air and back flipped landing a few feet away from the blond, he raised his sword up and parried another attack as the blond appeared in front of him.

"Most impressive, that sword changes the rules completely." He applauded as he spun around and attempted to slam the bottom of the sword in the blond's head. Naruto however anticipated the move and moved out of the way before the man could hit him.

He turned around and glared towards the Viscount. "What's your problem?" he asked as he rolled to the side avoiding the man's attack once more.

"My problem?" he asked curiously as he charged forward "Nothing… I just need to make sure no one speaks of the dagger…" he stated as he attempted to slash the blond in half.

"So you're trying to hide the evidence from the council." He growled back as he vanished from his spot, appearing above the man with his sword ready to strike. The Viscount vanished once more as the sword connected with the ground.

"Hide?" he laughed "They are more than welcome to come and find me…I'm sure they found the Viscount's body by now." He laughed making the blond stop dead in his tracks. "Oh? You really thought I was the Viscount?" he laughed before taking advantage of the blond's surprise by appearing in front of him and stabbing him in the stomach.

Naruto gasped as he bent forward and moved his hand towards the man's sword. He however pulled the sword out and kicked the blond away, he crashed on the ground, his sword next to him.

The man scoffed as he walked towards the blond "I was expecting a more impressive fight from you." He said clearly unimpressed, the man raised his sword above the blond's head. Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. The man paused for a second as he felt a strange power radiating from the blond for a second, that pause was enough for the blond to act. He kicked the man in the chest with all his might sending him flying away and crashing in the table, he then rolled to the side and grabbed his sword. Finally he jumped back on his feet and prepared to attack.

"Most impressive…" came the man's voice from behind him. The blond spun around and parried the attack "…there is something different about you." He said impressed by the blond's display.

Naruto ignored him and tried to find an opening, he noticed a crack appearing on his sword's blade and jumped backwards. He growled as the man raised an eyebrow. "Seems like your sword isn't that resistant." He taunted with a grin.

The man was right; Naruto's old blade wasn't powerful enough to withstand a long term fight with this world's swords. These swords were better crafted, stronger and more resistant. Those that were imbued with magic items were even stronger and could even cut through his blade like it was butter. His sword however was sharper, it was better used in his hands, in the hands of someone fast that trained with such weapon for a long time.

Naruto sheathed his blade and pushed the sheath back, behind him. He moved his hand towards his usual blade and unsheathed it taking the Royal Guard defensive position, he needed to play defensive for a little while, he needed to find some other way in defeating this man.

The man however didn't attack anymore, he turned his head towards the door. The blond could hear someone shouting, he could hear people approaching. "It seems our time is up…" the man said as he looked towards the blond. He grinned as he appeared in front of him. "…we will meet again…I'll make sure of it." He whispered as he moved back before the blond could strike and vanished in the darkness.

Moments later the door was thrown off its hinges and five heavily armored knights charged inside. The blond didn't recognize them, they didn't have the Royal Guard armor nor the Rune Knight armor. He could barely see them in the darkness.

"Fuck!" he heard one of them shout. "He's gone!"

"Forget about him, the boy!" another shouted as three knights ran towards the blond who fell on his knees, the world began to spin around, he had lost a lot of blood.

"We need a mage here! Now!" he heard one of them call out before the entire world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I'm trying to finish up the "prologue" and get on with the main plot...bare with me, only one or two chapters left.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 6**

Naruto groaned as he raised his hand up to his face, he felt the world around him move left and right. For a moment he thought that he was being carried somewhere, last thing he remembered was falling in battle. However, the sounds of waves made him wonder if he was actually being carried somewhere or if he was on a boat.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around, he was indeed on a boat. "You're awake." He heard a woman, his eyes moved to the source of her voice. To his left side was a woman dressed in white robes, a cowl covering her head and face. He could only see her rosy lips. Over the robe she had a chest plate and arm guards, on her back was what the blond believed a two handed sword.

"Where am I?" he asked as he tried to push himself up, the woman however moved forward and stopped the blond, pushing him back on the bed.

"You shouldn't move, your body is still recovering…" she told him as the blond complied and leaned back down on the bed. "…as for where you are…" she said pulling back "…you are on your way back to the mainland."

Naruto's eyes widened as he nearly jumped from the bed. "What?" he shouted "But my mission…"

"Is complete." The woman cut him off. He looked at her strangely, narrowing his eyes and wondering what she meant by that and what she knew about his mission. "There are little things that escape us Naruto-san…" she told him with a stoic voice sending a shiver down his spine. "…you've killed the cause of the plague and uncovered the imposter in the city, you've done more than what was asked of you…" she said as Naruto narrowed his eyes further.

"Who are you?" he asked in a low voice, tensing as if expecting her to turn on him like that fake Viscount did. Yet, when he looked at her face and saw a smile appearing on her lips he unconsciously calmed down and his guard dropped. It was if his mind knew that she wouldn't hurt him.

"Who I am is not important…for now at least…" the woman trailed off and looked up towards the window, contemplating at what she had just said. After a few minutes of silence she looked back at the blond and smiled once more. "…hopefully you'll never have to learn about us." She said.

"And why is that?" he inquired further "I've never seen your…armor style before, nor that strange marking on your chest plate." He stated pointing to her armor where the design of a griffon holding two swords was present.

The woman only smiled however, not replying to the blond. They stood in silence for minutes, the blond wanted to break the silence, to ask the woman something else or to press forward on the subject, yet each time he opened his mouth he would forget what he wanted to asked, he would be at loss of words.

After what seemed like an hour the woman began to move, she stood up and rummaged through her robe's right pocket. A few seconds later she brought her hand out, in her hand was a letter that she handed to the blond. Naruto took it and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering why she was handing him a letter.

"When you reach Castle Kimos, show this to your Knight-Commander young one." She stated as she turned around and began walking away. "Your equipment is in the cupboard."

"Wait!" the blond called out extending his hand out towards her. "I still have questions, I still don't understand what just happened!" he cried out. The woman stopped in the middle of the chamber and turned her head slightly towards him, she smiled as circles appeared around her. In a blinding light the woman vanished from the chamber leaving the blond alone to his thoughts.

He slumped down on the bed and frowned, numerous questions ran through his mind. As the events from yesterday – or so he assumed, that they happened yesterday – played through his mind, in front of his eyes, he began to wonder just what he had witnessed and in what he took part of. He felt like there was something grand going on here, like all the events that happened on that day were part of something big.

His mind trailed off to the strange girl he met that day in the house, the girl that saved him yet left with that stolen dagger. Naruto didn't know what the dagger was capable of, he could only imagine from what he had faced in the house and what he had read in the guardsman's last notes. And then, the fake Viscount. There was something different about him, something unnatural. He was more than sure that a mage couldn't move as fast as that man, he was positive. Yet, with the small number of mages he met in the past he couldn't be sure.

The boy wondered what the man's connection with the girl that saved him was. Maybe it was a mistake letting the girl out of his grasp, maybe he shouldn't have given up on trying to find her so easily. If the man was after her then he doubted she could outrun him, everything about the man screamed dangerous.

He sighed as he cleared his mind and brought the letter up to inspect it. The letter was sealed in an envelope, the blond inspected it carefully and debated whether he should open it and read what was inside or ignore it. It was addressed to his adoptive father after all and even if the Knight-Commander wasn't his father he should know better then to snoop-in on his leaders personal messages. Without a second thought the blond placed the letter on the nightstand and looked out towards the sea, slowly closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.

**xXx**

Naruto groaned as he stepped out of the train, he held his chest as the wound had yet to completely heal. It was strange, it usually didn't take too long for his wounds to heal, but this particular wound really took its sweet time in healing.

The ship he had been on stopped in one of Fiore's ports a day ago, as soon as he disembarked an old man called out for him, the man introduced himself as a courier for the group of warriors that saved him on that night, he was supposed to give the blond a ticket for a train that was leaving to Tatcha later that night. The blond tried to get answers out of the old man, however as soon as the man gave the blond his ticket he left without answering any of his questions. He didn't bother to follow the man, Naruto was more than certain that no matter how much he would have pestered the man he wouldn't have gotten any answers out of him.

That night he left the port town with the train heading directly to Tatcha, arriving early in the morning.

He looked around the station and took a deep breath, with a small smile on his lips he started walking forward. As soon as he reached the doors of the station the guardsmen saluted him and welcomed him back. One of them noticed the blond as he stumbled on his feet, walking down the stairs.

"Sir? Are you alright?" he inquired, the blond stopped walking and looked towards him giving him a single nod.

"Don't worry, just a scar." He mumbled as he continued walking forward, the guardsman cringed a little as he saw the blond almost fall on the stairs and wondered if he should go help him. However, as soon as the blond reached the last stair he blended with the crowd and vanished.

Naruto cursed slightly as he stumbled, he stopped in the middle of the road to catch his breath for a second. A burning sensation traveled through his body from his chest wound, he wondered if he had been poisoned by that attack and if the mage's that healed him didn't extract it…that or maybe the medicine they gave him was hitting in now, making its presence known only now.

Looking back up he shook his head as he continued walking forward, he had a lot of ground to cover till he reached the castle and it wasn't going to be an easy trip.

It was late in the evening when he reached Kimos, he had stopped numerous times on his journey to the castle to catch his breath and drink water from the stream. At one point he even took off his armor and washed his body, trying to make the burning sensation go down. It stopped, but only for a few minutes. He opted to continue his journey and ask the medics in the castle for treatment.

However, as soon as he reached the castle the pain vanished as well, though he still felt weak from the wound and the pain. He walked slowly through the gates, nodding at the saluting officers and guardsmen and made his way to the Knight-commander's office.

As he reached the man's door he knocked several times, he heard Ronda telling him to come in. The blond slowly opened the door and walked inside, closing it behind him. The commander looked up from his papers and smiled at the blond who took off his helmet and saluted.

"At ease." The man said as he motioned for the blond to take a seat. He did as he was told and walked towards the commander's desk. "Mission completed?" he asked with a smile as he placed his hands under his jaw in a fist.

Naruto sat down in one of the chairs and sighed as he placed his helmet on the desk to his right. "Technically…" he started leaning in the chair and closing his eyes, he tried to find the right words for this. "…I did and did not…" he replied unsure with himself.

Ronda raised an eyebrow at that. "Explain."

Naruto sighed as he began telling the knight what happened from the moment he stepped off that boat and till he woke up on another boat heading back to Fiore. The knight listened carefully at what the blond told him, smiling as he heard the plague had been dealt with.

"You said you had a letter for me…" the knight stated after the blond finished his story. The boy nodded as he rummaged through his pockets and brought out a small letter, he handed it to the man before him who opened the envelope and began reading the message.

Minutes passed and the man kept reading the message as if not believing what he was reading. When he was finally done with it he grumbled something under his breath, Naruto couldn't understand what he said. Ronda folded the message and placed it on the desk; he stared for a several minutes thinking about something. Naruto wasn't sure about what; he guessed it was related to what he read in that letter.

Finally, the man looked up and sighed. "I will relay the message to the council, you did good." He said shortly. Naruto frowned a little.

"Who are they?" he asked as Ronda kept looking at him with a stoic face, not answering his question. "I mean…I've never see their armor anywhere before. Are they Royal Guard? Rune Knights?" he asked.

"No, they aren't." the man replied "I'm afraid that I am not allowed to tell you more about them." He replied making the blond frown.

"Why not?" he asked, yet the Knight-commander stood silent, ignoring his question.

Finally, after several minutes the man stood up and motioned for the blond to follow him. He grabbed his helmet and placed it back on his head then followed the knight out of his office. They walked down the hallway towards the stairs and descended until they reached the basement.

As the stairs ended the blond was greeted by a long hallway with no doors or windows. It looked like the hallway kept going for miles, the only light source being the torches on the walls. They walked for several minutes until they reached a door at the end of the hallway. Ronda opened it and motioned for the blond to walk inside.

Carefully, the blond stepped inside and looked around. There was a small prison like window to his left and a torch to his right. In front of him was another door and next to it was a bench. He heard the door close behind him and turned around.

"Wait here…" Ronda said as he locked the door behind him not giving the blond any other choice. He walked away before Naruto could call out to him and ask him what was going on.

Left alone, the blond began to ponder what just happened. He walked towards the bench and sat down, he looked at the small window, he could see the mountain in the distance and the wall that separated the castle from the outside world. Naruto began to wonder if he should have kept his mouth shut and not ask his adoptive father who those men were. He shook his head dismissing that thought however, he doubted that he had been placed here – be it a prison or some sort of waiting room – because of a simple question.

Ronda didn't bother to disarm him so being in a prison was clearly out of the question, maybe he was supposed to wait for a council member here. But why here and not in the office or some place else? Naruto sighed as he stood up and began walking around in the small chamber. He was getting anxious, he couldn't figure out why he had been placed here.

After what seemed like hours the door unlocked, his attention snapped towards the door as he opened his mouth to question Ronda why he had been locked in here. However, his words died in his mouth as a knight stepped inside followed by another and then another. A total of ten knight stepped inside the room closing the door behind them. One of them walked forward, past the blond and opened the second door, stepping inside. The rest followed him inside, only one remaining outside blocking the door and access to the blond.

Once more the door opened and ten more knights walked inside followed by Ronda who was wearing his armor. He closed the door behind him and walked forward, the knights walked inside the second room, Ronda stopping in front of the guard. He nodded at him who nodded back and walked inside the room with the rest of the knights.

Finally the Knight-commander turned towards the blond and looked at him. "Follow me." He stated as he turned around and walked inside, the blond quietly followed his father inside.

As he stepped inside the room he took note of the twenty knights, they were all standing in a line, ten on each side in the room. Behind them were several statues of the previous Knight-commanders, their armors decorating the armor stands in front of the statues. Like in the hallway there were no windows in the room. Mural's decorated the walls in the chamber; they showed battles of the past, warriors that fought in ancient wars.

His attention was drawn away from them however as he heard Ronda telling him to stop, he turned to face the man as he kept walking forward until he reached a pedestal on top of which rested an elegant sword. The man took the sword in his hand and turned around, facing the blond. He raised the sword up and smiled slightly.

Naruto stood looking at his father wondering what was happening, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and turned his head to face the one that tapped him. He saw one of the knights motioning for him to kneel; he didn't understand but complied nonetheless. A few seconds later Ronda stepped forward and began walking towards the blond.

"For your success in your initiation mission I am pleased to raise you to the rank of knight." He began, the blond's eyes widened as he remembered why he took the mission in the first place and silently berated himself for forgetting that detail.

The blond raised his head slightly and looked at Ronda who was standing in front of him. The man lowered the sword and looked at the blond in the eyes. "Be without fear in the face of your enemies…" he started as he kept looking in the blond's eyes, Naruto stared back in his eyes. "Be brave and upright that God may love thee; speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death…" Naruto stood like a rock knowing how much he had lied in the past "Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath." Before the blond could even blink Ronda slapped him with the backside of his hand on the face. "And that is so you will remember it." Ronda finished as he lifted his sword.

Slowly recovering from the slap the blond looked up at the commander and then at the sword. He moved the sword towards the blond gently lowering it over his shoulders, tapping each one once. "Welcome to the brotherhood, Knight Naruto." He called out as he moved the sword away. The blond stood up and bowed to the commander.

The echoes of the knight's salutes echoed in the chamber and throughout the hallway.

**xXx**

"We meet again Uzumaki…" Siegrain said as he took a seat at the table in front of the blond. Said blond was enjoying his breakfast at an inn a few miles away from the town of Jukna located at the border with Bosco.

Naruto looked at the mage with the corner of his eyes before looking back down at his food and ignoring the council member who sat down in front of him. The man didn't seemed fazed by the way the blond treated him and continued smiling as he watched the blond slowly eat his breakfast.

They stood in silence for several minutes until the blond could not take it anymore and decided to break it. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Oh…directly to the point." Siegrain replied with a grin as he kept staring at the blond. "Just here to offer you a job." He stated making the blond raise an eyebrow at that.

"What kind of job would you need a simple knight for when you have mages or Rune knights to do it?" he inquired placing the loaf of bread back on the plate in front of him.

The man grinned as he extended his hand forward and grabbed the loaf of bread, he ripped a piece out of it and began munching on it, ignoring the glare he was receiving from the blond. "You are the best when it comes to dealing with…magical creatures." The mage stated with a grin "...and you work for free." He nodded to himself.

Naruto glared harder at him as he leaned in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. The twenty year old knight didn't like fighting magical beasts, ever since he became a knight he had to deal with a lot of them, his record was killing a total of thirty such beasts in one month, all of which were deemed too dangerous to deal alone.

"What makes you think I will work for free?" the blond inquired, he watched as the mage before him moved forward to grab some of the meat and narrowed his eyes. With a swift motion he slammed the knife in the table in front of the mage's hand making him stop in his tracks. "Everything has a price." The blond stated with a growl, he never liked this man, in fact, he barely liked anyone on the council, they worked the royal guardsmen and the knights like slaves.

Siegrain, unfazed by the blond's action, smiled as he pulled back and shrugged nonchalantly. "You answer to the council, do you not?" he inquired raising a curious eyebrow and making the blond grumble under his breath. "Therefore you work for free…" he said with a smile on his face.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he took a bite from the meat in front of him and ignored the mage. Siegrain waited for the blond to finish, he watched him as he ate and began thinking of ways to make him do the job he wanted. The knight stopped in mid bite and looked up at the mage with the corner of his eyes, feeling his gaze on him. "Anyone ever told you it's not nice to stare?" he inquired as the man grinned in reply.

"No…" he replied in a mocking tone making the blond growl under his breath once more. He turned back to his food trying his best to ignore the councilman. "…lets get back to business." Siegrain stated leaning in the chair. "The job is simple after all…you need to take care of a magical creature that's terrorizing a few villages to the north."

"Never heard of such a rumor…" Naruto stated not looking up towards the mage. Said mage grinned and shook his head at the blond.

"We kept it a secret and made sure no rumors would spread about it." He told the blond grabbing his attention. As if trying to ignore the fact that he now had the blond's attention he raised his hand up and began inspecting his nails, the knight growled knowing that the mage before him was testing his patience.

Siegrain grinned as he heard the blond growl, knowing that he had his full attention and that his plan was working as he wanted. "Oh sorry…" he excused himself as he leaned forward. "…as I was saying, the creature is like nothing we have seen before, it could be as old as this world." He stated making the blond scoff.

"Heard those before, in the end they are just mindless beasts ready to be killed." A grin appeared on the mage's face as he heard that, it was what he expected the blond to say. He only hoped that he would live up to those words and actually kill the target he would be assigning him to. "So what's so special about this beast?" he asked.

Siegrain shrugged. "We…don't know all the details…it emerged a few days ago causing mayhem in villages." He replied with a serious tone, the blond listened carefully; it was rare to hear the mage talk with such a serious tone. "The path it had…we believe it will reach your village at one point." The mage finished as he brought his hands up to his face in a thinking manner, yet, as his hands covered his face a sly grin appeared on his lips, he got the reaction he wanted.

The blond stiffened as he heard that, his eyes hardened as his hand moved towards his sword. "You want it dead?" he asked unsheathing his sword slowly. "Or you want it for tests?" the knight slammed the sword in the table making a plate fall on the ground and shatter.

Siegrain grinned; the first step in his plan was now complete. "Dead…is more than enough." He replied as the blond rummaged through his pockets and dropped money on the table. The knight stood up and took his sword out of the table.

"Where was it last seen?" he inquired as the mage grinned. "And what does it look like?"

"About two days of walk towards the north and you'll know when you see it." He answered as the blond nodded and began walking away. "We believe its heading towards the ruins of Ulamahay!" Siegrain called out, he wasn't sure if the blond heard him, he saw him place his helmet back on his head and vanished in the nearby forest.

With a sigh the mage leaned back in the chair and looked towards the forest. If the report he received was correct then this job would help him in his quest, the knight would help him reach his goal much faster and in an easier manner.

For two days the blond walked through the countryside, heading towards the ruins of Ulamahay, an old keep that had been used in the war with Zeref. There was nothing there now apart from the gatehouse and a tower, the walls had been destroyed and most of the stones used in building said wall had been taken by poachers and sold on the market. The guardsmen and the council didn't care about such an old place, for them it was just a ruin of the past.

Naruto didn't know much about the ruin, nor did he want to learn more about it. As he walked through the forest he began to wonder what kind of creature he would face. For two years he had been hunting magical creatures, taking odd jobs for the knights and sometimes from the council as well. He mostly hated working for the council as there was no pay involved and very little recognition; he saw them – or most of them – as a bunch of stuck-up bastards.

He tried to ignore that thought, every time he thought about the mage's he felt insecure and angry. Insecure due to his powers, he hadn't had any incidents for two year – something he was glad of – however he still felt that each time a mage looked at him it was like said mage was trying to find out if he had any power, as if he was testing him. That insecurity made him angry. He didn't despise mages, he knew a handful of mages that were great people and he could be relaxed around them, he hated the ones like Siegrain.

Naruto was more than sure that each time the mage gave him a job he would have some sort of hidden agenda, his body movement, his grins, his tone. Either he loved to piss off people or he wanted something else from them.

The knight was shaken out of his thoughts as he heard a roar in the distance; birds flew away from the trees they were resting in, running away from the noise. The blond tensed as he sprinted forward following the noise he had just heard, with each step he took he could feel the ground shaking and he could see the leafs falling from the trees. He wondered just how big this creature was to make the ground shake like this.

As he got closer he could see the damage caused to the forest, his eyes narrowed as it looked like a battle took place there. Moments later he heard a female's scream, his eyes widened as he sprinted forward once more hoping he would reach the scene before anyone was killed.

Mirajane groaned as she tried to stand up, her take-over magic had been canceled from the powerful blow she received. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the battlefield. Her eyes widened in horror at what she saw, her sister was laying on the ground a several feet from her coughing up blood with the beast above her, ready to deliver the final blow.

She cried out for it to stop, she cried out to her brother to wake up before he would deliver the final blow. Yet he didn't hear, its massive arms dropped towards the ground shattering it under its pressure. She screamed in anguish thinking that her sister had just been killed. To her surprise however when the smoke cleared an armored figure stood a few feet away from the beasts arms holding her sister in his arms.

Naruto thanked his luck, he made it in time managing to save the girl. He stood up and turned to face the beast which roared in anger, it looked towards the blond with narrowed eyes. He could feel the massive power radiating from it, this was different from all the other magical beasts he had faced in the past, he could feel it having two sources of power. Something he had never felt before.

His eyes widened as he saw the beast's massive arm move towards him, he jumped out of the way avoiding the attack. The knight looked around, trying to find a safe place where he could place the girl so he could fight the beast. His eyes rested on another girl not far away from his location, her eyes fixated on him. The blond looked towards the beast and jumped out of the way once more as its arms came crashing down on the ground.

The knight ran towards Mirajane, upon reaching her he stopped and lowered the unconscious girl towards her. "Get out of here." He ordered as he turned around.

"Wait, you don't know what you're facing!" Naruto unsheathed his sword ignoring her cry, he was about to charge forward when a hand grabbed his leg. He looked down towards the white haired girl. "Please…you don't understand…"

"It's too dangerous to be here!" Naruto cut her off "You need to get out of here, I can handle this guy." Mirajane was about to retort when a cough brought their attention to the previous unconscious girl. She looked up towards the blond with pleading eyes.

"Please…don't kill him…" she rasped out extending her hand towards him. "…don't kill brother…" she pleaded making the blond's eyes widen, he looked towards the beast that was preparing to move towards them and then back at the girl. For a second he thought that he had met her before, his mind told him to listen to her words.

The knight growled as he turned to face the beast and raised his sword blocking its fist. He was pushed back until his foot touched the downed girl's body. "Go!" he rasped out. "Grab her and go!" he shouted once more, the pressure from the beast was getting to him, he could barely keep its fist at bay. "I won't kill it…now go!"

Mirajane nodded as she lifted her sister and stood up, she turned around and began running away, sparing a few glances behind. She saw the knight jump out of the way as soon as she was at a safe distance, the beast's fist connecting with the ground.

Naruto readied himself and waited for the beast to make a move first, the young girls words echoed through his mind. He didn't know why he told her he would not kill the beast, he was sent here to kill it. Cursing slightly he charged forward jumping on the beast's arm and running up to its face, he took out his mace and slammed it on the beast's face making it howl in pain.

The knight jumped away as the beast pulled back clutching its face, it stumbled a few feet before shaking its head and locking eyes with the blond. It roared in anger as it charged once more. The blond ducked under its massive hand and raised his sword cutting the beast; his eyes narrowed however as the beasts hand stopped midway and lowered down towards him, he rolled out of the way barely escaping the attack.

He turned his head around, his eyes narrowed as the beast backhanded him throwing him like a ragdoll in a nearby tree. The tree's trunk cracked from the impact, Naruto groaned as he stumbled back on his feet, he moved his left hand to his back as he tried to ignore the pain. The ground began to shake, his eyes snapped open and widened as he saw the massive beast appear in front of him.

Before he could react the beast grabbed him in its hand and began slamming him on the ground. The knight yelled in pain, he felt his armor denting and piercing his body. Gritting his teeth, the young knight lifted his sword up and stabbed the beast's hand. The creature roared in pain as it began throwing its arm around, knocking down the trees in the forest. Naruto was lucky his head didn't hit any of the trees or else he would have instantly died at that moment.

Finally the beast threw the blond on the ground and lifted its foot to squash him, with all his strength the blond rolled out of the way and got back up on his feet. He started running towards the ruins of the castle, to buy some time and think of a plan in taking down the beast, in rendering it unconscious. He had fought it without a solid plan.

He was broken out of his thoughts as he felt the creature approaching; he looked behind him and jumped to the side as the beast tried to hit him once more. He rolled on the ground until he was facing the beast once more and growled. It was times like these that he wished he had learned how to use a crossbow, it would have aided him right now. His hand moved to his pouch and stopped midway, he wasn't sure it would work, it was still an experiment, it hadn't been completely tested.

Moving his hand away from the pouch he ran to the beast's right side and lowered his sword, he charged forward cutting the beast's leg. The beast dropped on its knee howling in pain, its back turned at the blond. With a grin Naruto charged forward once more and jumped on its back, he ran towards its head hoping to take it down while it was tending to its wound.

His plan backfired however, as he reached its head and swung his sword at it the beast said beast shook and turned around grabbing the blond once more with its hand and cutting its hand in the process as the sword stabbed in its flesh. It paid no mind to the pain however as it brought the blond close to its face and sneered. Finally, the creature pulled the blond back and opened its hand grabbing the blond in midflight by his arms.

Naruto swung left and right trying to pry his arms free from the beasts grip. The beast began to slam the blond on the ground, he yelled in pain with each slam. Finally, the creature grabbed the blond in its hand once more and with its other hand began punching the knight, denting his armor. It continued punching him until the armor broke, pieces of metal stabbing the blond's flesh.

A blood curling scream echoed through the forest, Mirajane and Lisanna stopped running and turned around. Mirajane bit her lower lip as she looked down at her injured sister. Sensing her gaze the younger sister looked up at the white haired girl and nodded with determination. Without any words they turned around and began running – to the best of their powers – back to the battleground to help the knight that had saved them.

On the battleground the beast had grown tired of punching the blond, his armor was in shambles, only his helmet was still intact and blood was dripping out of its holes. The beast moved its head forward and sniffed several times as if testing to see if the blond was still alive, still breathing. It pulled back as the blond coughed and blood spluttered out of his helmet, the creature moved its hand back and prepared to attack once more.

The knight looked up at the beast, one of his hands fell down, free from the creatures grasp. He moved his hand to his pouch and pulled out a small circular object that was pulsating a brilliant violet color. Naruto wanted to laugh at that, the object had become unstable, most likely suffering several hits from the beast as well, it should have exploded and kill him – he didn't know if he was lucky or not at this point.

He raised his hand, the object glowing in his hand. As the beast threw its fist forward the blond threw the object towards the creature's fist, as they connected an explosion threw them both in opposite directions. The blond flew through several trees hitting the gatehouse of the ruined castle and shattering a small portion of it, the rocks falling on top of his body. The creature flew through several trees; it dropped on the ground unconscious from the blast.

Moments later Mirajane and her sister appeared on the empty battlefield, they looked around frantically for the knight and their brother. They heard a grunt and ran to the source of the noise, they smiled as they saw their brother laying on the ground next to several trees. The blond however was nowhere in sight.

"Nee-chan…I'll stay with Elfman-nii, go find him." Lisanna called out to her sister. The elder girl looked at her brother and then at her sister, she didn't want to leave them alone. "He might be injured as well…" her sister added. The goth girl nodded as she stood up and ran back to the battlefield.

Once she arrived she looked around, trying to figure out where the blond could be. She looked back to the location where her sister and brother were and noticed the downed trees. Her eyes widened as she turned around and saw several downed trees leading towards the opposite direction, their number were smaller than the one leading to her sister and brother.

She knew the chances were small but there was no other clue as to where the knight might be. Mirajane ran forward, following the trail of downed trees till she reached the ruins of the castle, she looked around trying to spot anything out of place. Her eyes then widened as she saw a bloody arm sticking out of a pile of stone.

The girl ran towards them and dropped on her knees, she started pushing the stones away, trying to free the knight that was most likely stuck under the rubble. Mirajane began panicking as the stones became heavier and heavier to lift, she closed her eyes and pumped out magic activating her take-over magic. With renewed strength she began lifting the stones once more and throwing them away.

By the time Lisanna and the now conscious Elfman reached the scene Mirajane had reverted to her normal self and the rubble had been cleared revealing a bloodied knight barely breathing. Elfman bit his lip as he looked away knowing that he had done that, Lisanna walked forward and sat down on her knees next to the knight's head. She looked at her sister wondering what they should do; none of them had ever treated someone severely wounded like the knight before them.

"His helmet…" they heard their brother say, the girls looked towards him, a serious expression was present on his face. "…take off his helmet so he can breath easier." He said.

Mirajane nodded as she moved her hands to his head and pulled his helmet as carefully as she could. When the helmet was removed it revealed a twenty year old blond, his face completely covered in blood and struggling to breath. Lisanna gasped, her eyes widening as she looked at his face. "It can't be…" she mumbled, a flashback from several years ago appeared in front of her eyes, in the flashback she was talking to a blond guardsman on a train.

"Lisanna?" her sister asked moving her hand towards her. The girl looked at her sister with wide eyes.

"I know him…" she said, her voice low as a whisper. "…it's that guardsman, Naruto." She stated as Mirajane's eyes widened.

A cough brought their attention back to the wounded blond. "We have to do something!" Lisanna cried out as she moved to help the blond.

They worked on healing the blond the entire day, by the time night fell they decided to set-up camp in the remaining tower, Elfman stood at the entrance, guarding it. He said he needed time to think over what just happened and he wanted to be alone at that time. Mirajane and Lisanna were left to tend to the blond.

They spent all day and a good portion of the night to peel out each piece of steel that had pierced his body and disinfecting the wounds, finally bandaging them. They were in luck that in one of the pouches the knight carried they found some medical supplies, the little they had wouldn't have been enough to completely treat him. By morning they were done and the blond was breathing normally, his fever had gone down and he had regained most of his color.

Mirajane, unlike her sister, could not fall asleep even after they were more than sure that the blond would be alright. She stood watching him breath and wondering why he went to such lengths to save them, or better yet, to listen to Lisanna's request and not kill their brother when he was in his beast form.

She moved her hand towards the blond's face and moved a strand of hair away from his right eye. His left eye had been bandaged along with his forehead, she silently laughed to herself as the blond looked like a mummy of sorts with all those bandages. Her cheerful disposition dropped however as she realized that the blond could have died.

Mirajane pulled her hand away and sighed; she looked towards her sister and smiled slightly knowing that she was safe. A groan attracted her attention towards the knight, she saw him moving, his hand moved up to his face covering his eyes. He yawned as he moved his hand away revealing his eye, staring at the ceiling. The blond looked around until his eyes rested on the goth girl.

The two stared at each other for several minutes, for Naruto it was all a blur, he was still recalling everything that had happened before he passed out and wondering how he was still alive from that explosion. Mirajane didn't know how to start the conversation with the blond, she didn't know what to say to him or what to ask him.

After several minutes of silence the blond spoke up. "Where am I?" he asked with a groan as he tried to stand up.

Mirajane moved towards him and pushed him down. "Don't get up, you're still recovering." She said softly, something uncharacteristically to her. She stood above the blond for several seconds looking at his face, the knight raised a curious eyebrow. Mirajane blushed as she pulled back. "You're in the last tower of Ulamahay keep." She said as she looked away from him.

Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it, he exhaled deeply as he nodded to the answer. "How long was I out?"

"All night and the reminder of yesterday." She replied as she looked towards the window. "I believe its morning right now." She added as the blond went silent.

Mirajane looked at the blond who seemed to be thinking about something, his gaze was fixed on the ceiling above them. She bit her lip as she thought of something, of a way to spark up the conversation with the blond. She opened her mouth to thank him yet her words were barely audible, she wasn't used to thanking people, or more specifically, strangers.

Naruto looked towards the girl as he thought he heard her say something, she was looking at the ground and fidgeting. Finally, she looked up towards the blond. "Thank you…" she said. The blond was taken aback by that, a small smile appeared on his lips as he nodded towards her.

"Don't mention it." He replied looking away "Just doing my job." He told her, the girl however shook her head.

"No…" she said drawing his attention towards her once more. "…if you hadn't arrived when you did, my sister would have died." She said, her voice lowering to that of a whisper. "And you even saved my brother."

Naruto looked her and then sighed; he turned to face the ceiling once more. "That … creature…" he started making Mirajane look at him. "…that was your brother?" he asked curiously, not believing that he had heard from her younger sister yesterday.

Mirajane nodded with a small smile. "My brother is a mage as well." She told him "His magic is 'Take-Over'." Naruto nodded knowing what the magic was.

"Then…was it your brother that harassed those villages?" he asked as the white haired girl shook her head, her smile never leaving her lips.

"No, it wasn't my brother; it was the beast that he took over. Unfortunately he couldn't control its will and succumbed to it when we faced it here in the forest."

The knight nodded as he turned his attention to the ceiling once more. "Were you sent to…kill it?" she asked hesitantly. The knight stood quiet for several minutes making Mirajane wonder if he would answer that question.

"Yes." He replied shortly "But…since it's gone…" he shrugged not finishing the rest of the sentence. The girl smiled, the blond assumed that it was most likely because he wouldn't go chase her brother now.

"This might come off as rude, but have we met before?" he asked after a moment of silence, he was sure that he had seen her somewhere before but he couldn't put his finger on it. The girl smiled knowingly and nodded.

"We met on a train a few years ago…" she said, her mood brightening up. The blond opened his mouth and then closed it, a small smile appeared on his lips as well.

"Now I know why you looked familiar." He told her "You're that girl that hated strangers." He said making her huff and cross her arms over her chest, he chuckled at her reaction making her laugh as well.

"Maybe I really was jealous that a cute guy was already taken by a girl." She said with a sly smile and wink, the blond's smile however dropped slightly as he looked away. Fearing that she may have insulted him in some way Mirajane apologized, only for the blond to shake his head and reassure her that he wasn't sad because of that.

"I was reminded of her…that's all…" he said in a weak voice, the girl realized after a few moments that he was talking about the girl he was with at that time. She wondered if something happened between them but didn't inquire, it wasn't her business to butt in on other people's lives.

An awkward silence fell upon them after that, the girl excused herself after a few minutes and left to get some water from the nearby stream stating that Naruto might be thirsty. The blond silently agreed with her, he felt like he needed to drink something to clear his throat. Few minutes after the girl left a boy, younger than him by at least two years appeared in the small room.

He was taller than Naruto however and even though he was wearing a shirt the knight realized that he was more built than he was. He figured that the person before him was the girl's brother. The mage looked at the blond with a stoic face; he walked over to him and bowed down to him taking the blond by surprise.

"I apologize for the wounds I have caused you." He stated "And I thank you for saving my sisters." He finished as the blond smiled slightly and shook his head.

"No need to thank me, it's my job to protect." The mage however shook his head and apologized once more, the blond frowned but accepted his apology nonetheless. By the time Mirajane had returned with the water Naruto managed to learn more about Elfman and his siblings, he listened as the mage told him about their guild and their adventures with interest.

He got to know the boy better and was happy to know that there were mages out there like him, that uphold a certain code of honor, even though it seemed like Elfman held to his code of honor – or conduct – way too much for his own good as it seemed to border obsession.

Mirajane was happy to see Elfman talking to the knight when she arrived, her bother however excused himself as soon as he felt her presence and returned to his post stating that the smell of blood still lingered in the air and wild animals were attracted by it.

Naruto was left once again alone with Mirajane and her sister who was still asleep. The girl helped him drink the water she brought for him and started talking to him once again, getting to know him better. She was curious about him, she wanted to learn more about him and the order he belonged to. It was rare to talk to a knight, a simple knight. Rune knights barely talked to mages anyway and the ordinary knights that belonged to the Royal Guard were usually too busy, running from places to finish their tasks that they didn't have time for small talk.

A few hours later Lisanna woke up and joined the conversation as well, they spent most the day talking, in the end becoming friends even though they did no realize that at first.

The next day the blond was the first to wake up, he wanted to leave in silence and just leave them a message with his thanks – as well as a small payment for nursing him back to health. However, as he tried to walk out the room the white haired girl woke up and stopped him, this in turn waking up her sister who insisted on him staying for breakfast at least.

That morning all four of them ate outside, next to the towers entrance. Finally, when they were done with their food the blond stood up and thanked them for the food and prepared to leave. Once again he was stopped by Mirajane, her hand hold his. He looked at her raising a curious eyebrow.

Mirajane looked at him and smiled. "I wanted to thank you again." She told him, even though she had said it numerous times yesterday it felt right saying it once again. "If you ever find yourself in Magnolia, come to our guild, to Fairy Tail, so we can repay you properly." She told him as her sister and brother nodded in the background with smiles on their faces.

Naruto wanted to tell her that he didn't need anything for what he did, but the look in her eyes, he knew that there was no way to convince her otherwise. He smiled and nodded towards her. "I'll keep that in mind." He told her as she smiled brightly, he stared at her smile for what seemed like minutes, he felt mesmerized by that smile.

The knight then realized the girl was moving closer to him, before he could ask her anything he felt her lips press against his cheek. As the girl pulled back he looked at her at a loss of words. "Thank you." He heard her say with a soft voice, something that made his heart skip a bit, a feeling that he hadn't felt for a long time emerged from his heart.

He nodded towards her, slowly overcoming the shock. A smile appeared on his face as he turned around and began walking away, he flung the helmet – the only piece of the armor he still had – over his shoulder and raised his free hand up in the air in a wave. Moments later he vanished in the forest.

A giggle escaped Lisanna's lips as she looked towards her sister, the girl in question didn't pay her any attention as her mind was focused on the blond, she wondered why she had done that and how she had changed so much by just one event. As she watched him vanish she felt her heart beat faster and faster, she wondered what that feeling was.

**xXx**

For a moment Mirajane hated what she had done, her sister had been teasing her all day. But each time she thought of the blond her heart began to flutter once more and her sister's words would be blocked out.

They were currently on a train heading back to Magnolia, she wondered if they would see the blond knight again in the future. As she was lost in thought she perked up as she saw something in the distance, or at least she thought she saw something.

Looking carefully the girl noticed it was the knight; he was standing on top of a hill holding a banner in his hand. Lisanna seeing her sister looking out the window followed her gaze and saw the blond as well. Her eyes widened as she saw the blond holding the banner in his left hand, his right hand was on his chest, in a fist most likely. His helmet was resting on top of the banner.

She however didn't know what it meant, it was Elfman that told them. "A sign of respect, a goodbye to honorable warriors." He told them, it was how the knights of Kimos bid farewell to those they respected.

Mirajane smiled, the image of the blond knight saluting them as they vanished in the horizon would forever be in her memories.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Right, late again…hehe, I wanted to make this a 20k long chapter but I stopped at 10k for … several reasons.

1) I didn't want to drag it too much

2) It was too hard to proof read this much considering all the stuff I need to do nowadays

3) I can add more in the next chapter rather than using flashbacks in the future (which I will use since I didn't say much about the war and won't as I want to keep it a sub-plot for future use)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 7**

"So…I assume the job is done…" Siegrain stated with a grin as the blond stepped in his office. "…though, what happened to you?" he asked noticing the blond was all bandaged up, his armor nowhere to be see – apart from his helmet which he wore on his head.

The knight didn't reply at first, he walked over to his desk and sat down on the couch in front of him, throwing his legs on the mage's desk nonchalantly. Siegrain raised an eyebrow at the blond's behavior but let it skip, just this time. He coughed trying to grab the blond's attention and to answer his questions.

"Ah…just ran into some trouble…nearly lost my live. Nothing new." The blond replied with a shrug as he fiddled with his fingers. "You know what's strange…someone else arrived there before me…" his voice had turned cold as his eyes narrowed behind his helmet, the councilman leaned in his highchair and tapped his fingers against each other as if thinking.

"Oh? I don't remember giving this particular mission to anyone else." He stated, yet the blond didn't believe him, something wasn't right here. Still, the knight decided not to press forward, the man – or better yet, the boy – before him had much more power than him.

"I see…" he replied, Siegrain realized that the blond didn't believe him, he decided to change the topic – albeit a little.

"The monster?" he asked.

Naruto snapped his fingers as he brought his legs down and pointed towards the mage. "Ah yes…the monster…" a twitch appeared in the mage's left eyebrow making the blond grin. "…it's gone…" he said in a dismissive manner, flicking his hand and leaning back in the chair. "…bunch of fairies took it down." He inwardly laughed; he wasn't going to tell him that the beast was now controlled and part of a mage.

Siegrain kept a calm face on the outside, a small smile on his lips. However, inside he was boiling with rage, his plan had backfired. He steeled himself, in the end he would have to resort to the tower to achieve his goal, he only needed a bait to lure his victim in. "Ah, no worries then. You are free to go." He said turning around with his chair and ignoring the blond.

The knight frowned a little, he had hoped he could rile up the mage a bit, just to see what kind of face he would make and try to understand why the councilman loved to rile up people. He stood up and walked out of the office leaving the mage alone to his thoughts, the boy growled as he tried to think of something, he cursed Fairy Tail for ruining his plan.

**xXx**

A year had passed since the missions; the twenty one year old blond had the blacksmith repair his armor. For a year he scavenged the country side, traveling throughout Fiore and Bosco in an attempt to gather resources to perfect his little weapon, the miniature explosive lacrima. How he got the fragments were his most kept secret, his father knew about it but said nothing, he welcomed the blond's ingenuity.

The knight traveled from town to town, asking mages where and alchemists where to find minerals and herbs needed for the mix, he experimented with numerous ingredients until he finally found the right combination and created a stable lacrima explosive. It still had a few downsides, things that he could not correct but it was better than the already existing one and this one he didn't need to pay for.

He used it in battles on several occasions; he had created two types of such explosive. One that would render its targets unconscious and one that would…clear a path for him when needed. He used the latter on rare occasions and never against human beings.

Currently, the blond was returning from a port town to Tatcha, he had acquired several supplies from Ca-Elum needed to create more explosive. As the blond traveled through the country side a glimmer in the distance attracted his attention. He stopped the horse he was on and scrunched his eyes, looking in the distance. An arrow suddenly wheezed past his head.

The knight's horse pulled back as several arrows fell in front of it, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he unsheathed his sword and ordered the horse to charge. In his travels he decided not to spend money on trains anymore and to acquire a horse, just like all the knights. The one he managed to acquire was a sturdy steppe horse, he had placed chainmail on it to protect it from animals – he considered bandits and highwaymen as nothing more than animals.

As he reached the group of highwaymen Naruto moved his sword back and leaned to the side, as he got close enough he swung his sword cutting a bow in half and one of the highwaymen's arm in the process. He turned his horse around as the rest of them unsheathed their weapons and charged towards him. As the first one got close enough the blond disarmed him and rendered him unconscious by ramming in him with his horse.

There were moments that Naruto hated that he couldn't kill bandits and highwaymen. Killing in self defense was not considered a crime, especially when a knight killed, but it was frowned upon. Considering with how many bandits this world had to deal with Naruto wondered just why he couldn't kill some of them, it would have made the world a much better place to live in.

After only ten minutes the attackers had been dealt with, the majority had been rendered unconscious while a few of them decided to make a run for it. Naruto didn't bother running after them, he tied up the highwaymen that he had rendered unconscious to his horse and continued his journey, dragging the men after him. It was close to noon when he arrived at the outskirts of Magnolia Town.

The merchants leaving the town, or the people going out for a stroll on the countryside looked at him in wonder, they noticed the tied up men dragged behind his horse and laughed silently. It was rare to see this method in bringing bandits to a jail.

"Halt!" the blond stopped his horse as a guardsman stepped forward. "I need your papers sir." The guardsman stated as the blond nodded and handed him his papers. The man looked through them, he saw the stamp of castle Kimos and nodded to himself, he then saw the stamp that signified the blond was part of the knights and handed the papers back without asking any questions. He bowed before him as he allowed the knight entry.

As the blond passed the guardsmen he turned around slightly. "Where is your jail?" he asked.

"Go to the western part of the town, its close to the canal." The guard replied. Naruto nodded as he turned around and continued his journey.

It didn't take long for the blond to reach the town's jail, the guards nodded to him and opened the stable for him. The knight tied his horse inside the stable and untied the bandits; they had woken up by now. Naruto motioned for them to get up and walk forward, they knew better than to try and run away, the gate had been closed anyway behind the blond.

One of the guardsmen opened the door for the knight and his captives, letting them step inside the building. Once inside Naruto walked forward and saluted the knight in charge of the place, said knight returned the salute and looked at the blond's prey.

"Impressive number you have there…" he said as he stepped forward to the bandits and looked at each other, they growled at the knight as if trying to intimidate him, but with a glare from the knight they all shut their mouths and whimpered.

"Do you have rooms for them?" Naruto asked as the knight nodded and called out for two guards, he ordered them to take the bandits to the cells and turned towards the blond. He walked past the blond and to the desk in the room; he opened one of the drawers and took out a bag of jewels and spilled the content on the desk.

After a few minutes the man turned towards the blond and handed him five thousand jewels. Naruto nodded accepting the money, he was surprised how well the man paid for a few bandits. "A pleasure doing business with you knight." The blond said with a bow as he turned around.

"Likewise." The man called as Naruto walked towards the door. Before he could open the door a nearby job board caught his attention. It was mostly empty, only one task was there, he walked over to it and grabbed it. "Interested?" he heard the knight call out. "I was about to send it to the mages since they do most of the jobs here." He laughed.

Naruto realized that Fairy Tail had their guild in this town, so jobs for the guardsmen were mostly scarce due to people going to the guild to give their requests. The job wasn't something out of the ordinary, he had to patrol through the countryside and take out any bandits he might run into.

The blond turned towards the man and nodded. "I'll do it, I could use a few money." He said as he turned around and opened the door. "I'll return in the morning." He said as he stepped out the door and walked to his horse.

The knight untied his horse and got back on it, he rode out of the stable and back on the busy streets. People moved out of the way as they saw him, giving him space and nodding in his direction, showing respect – something that the blond liked at lot, he liked knowing that people respected his line of work.

He rode through the streets passing by stalls where merchants exposed some of their goods to the public, so as to attract their attention and maybe get them to enter their shop. Naruto saw all kinds of merchandise, ranging from weapons, to magic items and groceries. The blond looked at the pack tied to the horse and checked to see if he had any more torches left. He nodded to himself as he saw five more, it would be enough for a night patrol.

"Naruto-san?" the blond turned around looking for the sound of the voice. He saw a girl in the crowd waving towards him and trying to reach him. He stopped his horse and waited for the girl.

He smiled as he recognized who it was. "Hello there Lisanna-san." The blond said with a smile, though she did not see it due to the helmet.

The girl stopped next to the horse and bowed towards the blond, she looked back up at him and smiled happily. "I knew I recognized the armor." She said, her eyes then moved to the horse. "But I never knew you had a horse."

Naruto laughed at that making the girl giggle. "Busy are we?" he asked looking towards the large bag of groceries she was carrying.

"Someone has to do the shopping, else we run out of food." Lisanna replied "Did you come to visit us?" she asked, her eyes seemed to be shinning as she asked that.

The knight chuckled as he shook his head. "Didn't think about that…" he replied, the girl huffed as she crossed her hands over her chest. She then grinned as she moved her hands and the bag behind her.

"Say, why don't you come now?" she asked him "I'm sure sis would be happy to see you." The girl giggled making the blond raise an eyebrow. He shrugged in response.

"I guess…got some time till my mission starts." He told her as he extended his hand towards her. "Hop on." He said, her eyes sparkled as she placed her hand on his, the knight pulled her up and helped her sit on the horse behind him, finally the knight ordered his horse to move forward with Lisanna telling him which way to go to reach the guild.

"So what job do you have?" she asked after a moment of silence leaning to the side to see the blond's face, or at least the front of his helmet.

"A night patrol, need some money." He replied casually. "What have you and your siblings been doing since we last met?" he asked her.

The girl sighed at little. "Not much, we kept taking jobs, having fun with our friends, the usual." She replied dangling her feet, she grinned as she looked towards the blond. "Though my sister had been thinking of you since you departed." She told him with a giggle.

The blond turned his head towards her with an incredulous look on his face. "She has?" he asked not believing her, they barely knew each other after all.

Lisanna laughed at him making him wonder why she was laughing, after a few minutes she calmed down and shook her head. "I was joking…a bit." She said with a wink "When we got back she wouldn't stop talking with master Makarov about you and for a good month or two she had been very eager to meet you again."

Naruto turned around and shook his head. "I should thank you." He heard Lisanna once again. "Since that meeting…she had changed, I like they way she changed."

"She didn't strike me as a bad person." The blond replied trying to sound like he didn't have that much influence over the girl's change. Lisanna however shook her head, a distant look appeared in her eyes as she continued talking.

"In the past, she would have ignored anyone or disrespected them, she wouldn't have cared about anyone other then her friends and family. She used to get in a lot of fights, for no reason…" she said as a smile appeared on her face. "…but since that incident, she became more open, more helping and she doesn't get into that many fights anymore." She finished with a laugh.

The blond sighed softly and shook his head, he still didn't believe he had much of a influence over changing someone. He wasn't the best person to be looked at for live changing, his hands were deep in blood, his nose was longer than a road from all the lies. But then again, he decided to ignore all that and just accept the facts.

As the guild came into view the blond was taken aback by its size, he had never seen a mage guild before so he had no idea how they looked like, Fairy Tail was impressive. He stopped on the road and helped Lisanna down, the girl told the blond to follow her to their stables. He was impressed that they had a stable, even though it was small – it could only hold three horses – but it was more than he expected.

After leaving his horse in the stable the blond followed the mage in the guild, as soon as they entered the guild however the knight was forced to duck as a chair flew over his head, he looked towards the now shattered chair and then towards the interior of the guild were a brawl was taking place. Lisanna sighed a little.

"Don't mind them…" she said walking forward, the blond carefully followed her trying his best to dodge any wayward projectiles.

"Is this…normal day occurrence?" he asked, everything here was new to him, he had never imagined that a guild would be run like this.

The girl laughed softly and shook her head. "Not really, you get used to it however after some time and it becomes … normal."

The blond nodded accepting her answer, he still wondered however why they would fight each other. He understood sparring, but what was happening in the guild was more or less an all out brawl.

Lisanna led the blond to the guild's bar, she told him to take a sit as she walked in the back to leave the groceries. Naruto sat down at the bar and looked at the guild's interior, admiring the place. While the blond was busy with his surroundings Lisanna ran through out of the kitchen through the guild looking for her sister, a sly grin present on her face.

She ran past Luxus who seemed to be sleeping at one of the tables with his feet on it and down the stairs to the basement. The girl smiled as she saw her sister down there checking the stock and arguing with Erza, like always. She ran up to her sister and tapped her on the shoulder, the elder girl turned towards her and smiled asking what was wrong.

"You have a visitor." She said with a grin as she then told her to go upstairs. Mirajane raised an eyebrow at that and asked her who the visitor was; her sister however just shook her head and kept quiet, her smile never leaving her lips.

With a sigh the girl walked past her sister and headed upstairs. Erza looked towards Lisanna in a questioning manner; the younger girl however shook her head and said nothing opting to run after her sister giggling all the while. The red head, curious, followed them upstairs.

As they reached the main floor they noticed the brawl taking place, Erza thought that this was the reason Lisanna brought them up, however when she looked towards her rival she saw her staring at the bar with a small blush on her cheeks. The read head looked towards the bar and noticed a figure she had never seen before.

"Who is he?" she asked turning towards Lisanna who giggled.

"He's the guy I told you about." The girl replied making Erza's eyes widen as she looked back towards the knight who was staring at the brawl with fascination. She then looked towards her rival who began to fidget. "What are you waiting for? Go and talk to him!" Lisanna told her elder sister who looked back at her.

"But...I don't know what to say." She complained as she looked back at the knight. "I mean, we hadn't met for a year…"

Her sister sighed as she walked behind her and started pushing her earning a surprised gasp. "Just go and say 'hi'."

Mirajane bit her lip as she looked at her sister and then back at the blond. The girl nodded and slowly began walking towards the blond, she didn't know why she felt like this now. She was the one that invited him to the guild after all but she had never expected him to actually come one day.

The girl stopped a few feet from the blond, her presence attracted his attention, the knight turned his head towards her and smiled behind his helmet. "Hey…" the girl said in a weak voice, mentally she berated herself, wondering why she was getting all emotional. The blond's smile didn't falter as he raised his hand in a wave.

"Nice to see you again." The blond replied while taking his time to study her. She wore a black one piece dress with a short skirt holding the top together with a ring and a string that went around her neck. Naruto did a double take at her clothing, he thanked himself for wearing the helmet, he could feel his cheeks burning. The clothing really complemented her figure.

The girl smiled a little sensing him stare. "Want something to drink?" she asked grabbing his attention, his eyes connecting with hers. "On the house of course." She winked, her initial loss gone now. The blond nodded as he took off his helmet and placed it on the bar next to him.

Mirajane walked behind the bar and stopped in front of the blond. "Fancy anything in particular?" she asked him, the blond simply shook his head letting her know that anything would do. After looking through the large number of beverages for a few seconds Mirajane pulled one of the bottles and opened it for the blond. She handed it to him with a glass.

Naruto took the glass and bottle, nodding towards her. "Care to join?" he asked taking Mirajane by surprise, she giggled and nodded handing him a second glass. The blond grinned as he poured the beverage in her glass first and then into his.

"How have you been?" he asked taking a sip from the glass and tasting the beverage, it wasn't anything he hadn't tasted before but it had a much better taste.

The girl shrugged a little. "Much better…" she replied with a smile while moving her finger above the glass. "…it was hard at first; I kept having nightmares of the event."

"Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

Mirajane nodded and sighed. "In the dreams you never showed up…" she mumbled, loud enough for the blond to hear. He could only imagine how it was, or how it would have been if he was only a second later. "…but its better now." She added with a smile.

"That's good to hear."

The white haired girl nodded and placed her hands under her chin, she smiled towards the blond. "But what about you? I wasn't expecting you to actually take up my offer." She told him.

"Do I look like the kind of guy that would reject an offer from a beautiful lady?" he asked with a mock hurt tone making Mirajane giggle. "I might have been late, but … better late than never no?" he asked her with a big smile.

The girl nodded towards him as she began asking him what he had done in the past year, the bystanders – Lisanna and Erza – watched their interaction with fascination, the younger girl was pleased to see her sister talk openly with someone outside the guild, Erza however was shocked that her rival was talking with someone so casually, she had never seen this side of her.

The red head smiled as she watched them, her smile dropped as a book suddenly connected with her head, she turned towards the brawl in the guild and glared hard. The girl marched towards them intent on stopping the fight and breaking a few limbs in the process. Lisanna laughed as she walked out of the way and went in the kitchen to take care of the groceries she had bought.

Naruto and Mirajane were obvious to what was happening in the guild, their conversation had blocked out everything that was happening around them. The blond was focused on the girl in front of him and what she was telling him, the girl was focused on the blond, listening to his stories and adventures with great interest. She was right, the knights really had an exciting life, she had always believed it was boring and filled with paperwork, but it wasn't like that at all.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted as a pink haired boy appeared in front of the blond, in between the two. He looked the knight with narrowed eyes, as if scanning him. "Who are you?" he asked as the blond smiled.

"Uzumaki Naruto, knight of Kimos." He replied as the boy's eyes widened, he suddenly pulled back and jumped into a defensive position.

"I swear it wasn't my fault the ground underneath that building collapsed, it was that other guys fault!" he shouted while flailing his arms around as if he was defending himself.

The blond blinked towards him not comprehending what he was saying, he heard Mirajane sigh as she suddenly appeared next to the boy and started lecturing him on manners. The knight chuckled as he saw the embarrassed look on the boy's face, apparently he had made a mistake and confused the blond with someone else. Still, it made the blond wonder just what he was talking about.

Mirajane sighed as she walked back towards the blond and resumed their conversation. Thought this time they weren't alone anymore, several guild members, including the pink haired boy, joined them. He met with Elfman once again, he was surprised to see him bruised and beaten up like that, though from what Mirajane told him it was because of the brawl he most likely took part in.

The knight managed to get to know several people in Fairy Tail, he met their guild master as well. The blond was surprised the man was so small yet was so powerful being one of the ten wizard saint mages, he had enjoyed his time with the mages. When the time to leave for his mission had arrived he was surprised that Mirajane wanted to assist him telling him that she knew the countryside around Magnolia better than anyone.

Naruto tried to make her change her mind yet she seemed adamant on joining him, in the end he caved in and allowed her to help him under the condition that he'd do all the fighting. The girl wanted to know how knights worked, she wondered if patrols for them were eventful or just boring chores.

It wasn't like that at all, the moment they stepped in the countryside they were attacked, their attackers were quickly dispatched however by the knight. Throughout the night the blond did his best to capture as many brigands as he could, taking down a total of three camps, the last one with the help of the mage. In her eyes, the blond was a very interesting person, though she felt like there was something different about him since they last met.

During the night she felt some sort of energy brewing inside the blond and for a second she thought that it was calling out to her. She didn't understand and no matter how much she tried to sense if the blond had any magic reserves she couldn't find anything. He intrigued her, he was mysterious and funny. She had hoped that the blond would spend more time in Magnolia, yet in the morning he cashed in the reward and departed for his castle telling her that he would try and visit some time in the future.

Their meeting only left Mirajane wanting to know him more, she felt happy talking to him, she felt secure around him. She wondered why though.

**xXx**

A week later the blond arrived back in his home village, he decided to pay a visit to his mother as he hadn't seen her for a whole year. The blond waved to everyone in town, they waved back at him and cheered for his return, the people had grown to love him for everything he did for them. He made the countryside safer, he protected their village from bandits, wild animals and magical creatures.

As the blond reached his house he got off his horse and tied it to the makeshift stable he had there. He walked inside the house and looked around, he heard someone crying in the kitchen. The blond walked in the kitchen and saw him adoptive mother crying, she was sitting at the table, her head in her palms.

"Mother?" he asked drawing her attention, the woman gasped as she looked up towards the blond. A teary smile appeared on her face as she ran to him and grabbed him in a hug, tears continued to flow from her eyes as she broke down crying once again. "Mother? What's wrong?" he asked.

The woman shook her head as she rasped out the answer. "Your father…he's leaving for the war." She said. Naruto's eyes widened as he heard that, he pushed his mother back a little and looked at her in the eyes.

"What war? I've heard of no such thing!" the blond nearly shouted. Aleandra shook her head crying.

"I don't know! He won't tell me!" the blond frowned as he pulled himself out of her arms.

"Where is father?" he asked. The woman pointed towards their bedroom and the blond excused himself, he told her he would get the answers out of him. He walked out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom where he found the knight-commander packing clothing in a hurry.

"Father." The blond called out, the man looked at him for a second and resumed packing his bags. The young knight narrowed his eyes as he stepped inside. "What's this about a war?" he inquired.

The elder knight stopped for a second and sighed shaking his head. "I'm not allowed to talk, by the king's order I need to embark tonight's train and head to Pergrande Kingdom and assist in the war." He told his son as he resumed packing his bags.

The blond watched as the man threw clothes in a backpack and prepared his armor. "Do you really need to go?" he asked stretching the words. "Can't you send any other knight?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

The man looked towards the blond. "They weren't specific in their request…they said a knight from each castle throughout Earthland."

"Then send someone else!" he shouted making the man looked at him with wide eyes, this was the first time the blond raised his voice at him.

He shook his head however. "No, there is no one with as much experience in fighting. I must go." He stated as he returned to packing his stuff. "You will be left in charge of the castle while I'm gone." He said as the blond frowned.

Naruto watched his father for a few more seconds, a flashback from when he was fifteen popped in front of his eyes at that moment. In the flashback he was talking to Aleandra, the woman telling him how scared she was of losing her husband in battle. The blond shook his head, they had already lost enough. Friends, family…a son. He walked over to the man and with a swift move he rendered him unconscious.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered "…but I have more experience in wars." He stated coldly as he remembered all the people he had killed in his previous life, he knew how to fight in a war and now he knew how to fight side by side with brothers in arms. Without a second glance he turned around and left, as he passed by the kitchen he stopped. "Father is asleep, I will send someone else in his place." He stated.

The woman looked at him with wide eyes not understanding what he meant. "I'm the second in command after all…" he whispered as he walked out of the door and untied his horse. The blond mumbled an apology as he rode away from his house, he had broken one of the knight's rules…this time however, it was for a good cause.

It didn't take long for the blond to reach the train station in Tatcha, he was surprised when he saw Siegrain there along with the knight of Kimos and a group of unknown knights.

He got off his horse and walked forward, one of the Kimos knights took the blond's horse as young knight moved towards what he believed to be the officer. The man was wearing a golden metal armor with various enchantments inscribed into it. A fur clock was held on the back together by an emblem which connected the four edges of the cloak. The armor seemed to be a scale like design, almost similar to his, yet more refined, on the armor's chest he thought he saw the design on a skull, yet he wasn't completely sure about that.

"Are you the representative of Castle Kimos?" the man asked, his voice held power and authority. He was a man in his late forties.

The blond nodded without hesitation as he kneeled down in front of him. "Lieutenant Naruto Uzumaki, of Castle Kimos reporting sir." He said as the man brought up a clipboard and looked over it.

"Hm…we were expecting the knight-commander." He said as he glared towards the blond.

Siegrain stepped forward with a small grin. "Ah but he is a much more valuable asset." He said, however his words died in his mouth as the man glared towards him in a 'who asked you' fashion.

"About that…" the blond started drawing the officer's attention towards him. "…he is currently indisposed due to an unforeseen illness." The man looked at the blond and then at the clipboard and nodded as he started cutting Ronda's name out.

"I see…he wouldn't do us any good in his condition." The man said as he motioned for the blond to stand up. "Name." he ordered.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The man scribbled in the blond's name on the clipboard. "Rank."

"Lieutenant." The blond replied.

Once more the man scribbled the answer on the clipboard. "Base of operations."

"Castle Kimos."

The man nodded as he wrote it down. "Age."

"Twenty one." The blond replied making the man stop and look at him with a raised eyebrow.

He shook his head as he scribbled down the blond's age. "So young…so stupid." He said with a grumble as he placed the notepad away. "Your … contact man here will tell you all you need to know, board the train in five minutes." He ordered as he made a sign towards distance.

Naruto glared towards Siegrain as the boy approached him with a confident grin on his face. "I wasn't expecting you to come…" he said in a pleasant tone as if he meant the opposite. The blond growled.

"Just tell me what I need to know." He said crossing his arms over his chest.

The mage laughed as he shook his head. "Alright…all you need to know is that what you will fight is not human, so prepare for the worse." He said cryptically. "I would tell you more, but there are ears here that are not allowed to hear the truth." He said with a grin as he looked towards the rest of the knights with the corner of his eyes.

The young knight growled as he turned around to ignore the boy. He saw one of the knights approaching him, he was holding the castle's banner in his hand. The man kneeled down before the blond extending the banner. "May it protect you in battle sir." He said as the blond took the banner in his hand.

"Make sure you carry it in battle, it's the only way to distinguish you from foes." Siegrain said with a grin as the blond ignored him but made a mental note to fight with the banner in his hand.

Naruto thanked the knight who stood up and saluted, the rest followed suit as they heard the trains whistle. The blond walked towards his horse however one of the knights stopped him. "You won't be needing her, or so we were told sir." He said as Naruto nodded sadly and turned around; he boarded the train just as it was leaving.

A sly grin appeared on the councilman's face, things went better than he had anticipated.

Hours later the knights could be found travelling back to their castle with the blond's horse in tow, it was then that they came face to face with their commander. The man was red, he seemed to be extremely pissed about something.

"Where is Naruto?" he shouted, anger dripping out of his voice, the men looked at each other in wonder and then towards their leader.

"He already boarded the train to Pergrande sir." One of them replied as the color drained form the man's face. He started shaking as he took a step back.

"No…" he mumbled grabbing his head. "…that damn retard!" he shouted gritting his teeth. His head snapped up, they could see the tears flowing from his eyes. "I want the fastest messenger sent to my office! Pronto!" he yelled, the men scrambled as they ran towards the castle leaving the commander alone at its outskirts. There was still time he said to himself, if he could send the letter to the council they could make the change, he prayed that it would be like that.

**xXx**

Naruto watched as more and more knights boarded the train each time they stopped in a town that had a castle nearby. He saw and met knights from all over Fiore, when they passed the border he thought they would stop at stations in Bosco and pick up more knights, however they did not. One of the knights he met – a woman – told him that the train they were on was tasked with taking knights only from Fiore, there were other trains that took volunteers from the rest of the countries.

They had made little stops since they left Fiore, there was one stop in Bosco to gather supplies and refuel the train and since they there had been no stops until they reached Ieberg and finally Pergrande Kingdom. It took them a total of one week to reach the kingdom, they entered its borders during night time, the blond didn't see anything, it was cloudy outside and the moon's light had been blocked by the clouds.

By morning however the blond managed to get a good look at the kingdom's country side, a mix between a Havana, the arid desert and steppe. He saw the king's castle in the distance as well as the city it was located in, the train however did not head in its direction instead it went towards the north, towards the border with the northern plains. No one knew exactly what was beyond the border, very few ventured there and those that did either returned insane or never returned.

He tried to gather as much information as he could from the rest of the knights, very few would talk to him however, they were anxious, only the woman from before answered some of his questions with the little knowledge that she had. It wasn't enough however, not even she could give him a clear insight on what might be beyond the border. She guessed there was another kingdom there, there had been reports of patrols across the border and they had engaged in small talk before.

He asked her why people vanished beyond the border; the woman told him that it was because of the road. The road was dangerous, even the other kingdom's patrols rarely traveled towards the border so as not to go through the passages. Those that knew the roads or were lucky could make the trip safely, why they wouldn't return it was a mystery however. Maybe life in the other kingdom was better; maybe they feared going a second time through that road.

The conversation came to an end however as the train came to a full stop and the officer started shouting how they would be disembarking here. The young knight grabbed his gear and stood up following the rest of the knights, once outside he looked around assessing the landscape. A vast desert greeted him, it went for miles. Towards the north he could see the mountains, but they were far away.

Naruto, just like everyone else, began to wonder why they stopped here, in the middle of nowhere. They saw that as soon as they all disembarked the train started leaving; none of them however moved an inch despite that.

"Alright girls!" the officer shouted drawing their attention towards him. "You might be wondering why we stopped here…" he paused as he looked around, everyone nodded and mumbled in agreement. "…we aren't heading to the frontline, not yet, we are to support another company to the west from here." He said as he began walking around, one of the knights spoke up.

"Sir, who are we supporting and against whom?" he inquired as the man stopped and turned towards him.

"You will see when we get there, I want you all to form a line, two side by side." He ordered as he turned with his back towards them and began walking.

The knights followed suit moving behind him in a line of two, the blond ended up being paired with the woman he had been talking with in the train. He made no attempt in talking with her however; he knew the drill in this scenario.

Naruto wondered what people would think if they saw the large group of twenty knights marching through the desert, they were all carrying their banners in their hands with the officer occasionally ordering them to move faster.

At times the blond wanted to stop and just rest for a few minutes, marching in the desert's sun was not something he had done before. However he knew that if he stopped he would disgrace his comrades, he now answered to the officer, he knew what he had signed himself into and had no regrets on that matter, he only hoped that the officer wouldn't force them to fight without resting.

For hours they walked in the scorching sun, the blond wondered how the others were holding up. He noticed the woman was getting tired by the minute, the knight in front of him stumbled several times and shook his head at least once. Suddenly, the officer raised his hand and ordered them to stop, he turned to face them and it was then that the blond noticed the few beads of sweat rolling down his face, though, apart from that he showed no signs of fatigue.

"You have fifteen minutes to catch your breaths, our destination is close." He said as he walked to a nearby rock and sat down, taking out a bottle of water and drinking a quarter of its contents.

The blond cursed the sun as he looked around for a bit of shade, he had no luck however, he was forced to try and catch his breath under the sun's touch. He took his time to watch the rest of the knights, no one was in the mood for talking, he could see two that were extremely tired and trying their best not to fall unconscious.

"The sun will set soon…" he heard the woman speak next to him, he turned towards her and noticed she was looking towards the sky. He followed her gaze and looked up at the sun as well, the knight brought his hand up to his face, he then looked back at the woman who seemed to be spacing out, watching the horizon.

After fifteen minutes the officer ordered everyone to move out once more, they complied without a word and continued their march. By nightfall the scenery around them began to change, like the blond saw when they were in the train. It seemed like the Pergrande Kingdom had several types of terrains. The air slowly became more humid, vegetation started to appear around them and then the ground became moister. The land around them started to turn into a swamp, with large trees and grass growing around them.

By the time the moon was shinning in the sky they were already inside the swamp making their way to God knows where. The blond was grateful however for the fact that he didn't have to endure the sun anymore, though marching in the swamp didn't make him feel comfortable.

"Keep your eyes peeled men…" the officer suddenly spoke up. "…we've reached our destination, the company we are supposed to assist is here and they might need our help." He stated, from the tone of his voice the blond could only deduce that they would see some action soon.

That put them all on the edge; most of them had unsheathed their weapons after the officer spoke. They had broken off from the two man formation and formed a three man one. Naruto ended up being in the middle, holding a torch in his free hand and lighting world around them. To his right was the woman and to his left was another young knight, probably five or seven years older than the blond.

They marched through the swamp for hours with no action and no sight of the people they were supposed to support. The land underneath their feet came to an end and they were forced to continue marching through water, its level reached the blond's waist and marching through it proved difficult.

The officer suddenly raised his hand and ordered everyone to stop, he could see the knights around him tense, they were expecting something to happen. A strange sound echoed around them making the blond look around to try and spot the source. A twig broke a few feet away, to his right, he spun to the right along with several knights that were already holding their shields or weapons up in a defensive position. Naruto noticed one of the knights strap his banner to his back and bringing out his shield.

Sounds began to echo around them, everyone was looking around trying to spot the source. They all moved closer to the knights in the center, the officer moved back as well and prepared to fight whatever would come out.

Then, all of a sudden, the sounds stopped. There was no more noise around them, all they could hear were the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees. Despite all that no one moved, no one blinked. They all stood rooted in place like statues, the blond was more than sure that something would happen.

A wheezing sound suddenly echoed through the forest, he heard several knights scream in pain as well as a series of metallic thips echoed around him. He felt the woman next to him drop down and heard her grunt in pain, the blond turned towards her and saw her holding her side, a strange white arrow sticking out of her armor at her waist.

"Incoming!" he heard someone shout, the blond looked up and his eyes widened as he saw strange humanoid creatures charging from the bushes, it looked like their entire body was made out of a mix between rotting flesh, mud and moss. Behind them the blond saw another set of weird humanoid creatures, these ones shined under the moon's light as their entire body seemed to be made out of crystal.

Naruto's eyes widened as he moved forward and grabbed the woman, he then moved back with her just in time as a hail of arrows from the crystal like humanoids rained down in the previous spot they once stood. A knight appeared in front of the blond and blocked one of the charging creatures, cutting it down in half.

While the knights were fighting around them the blond was trying to pull the crystal arrow out of the woman's armor without injuring her further. The woman grunted in pain as she tried to bend the arrow and rip it out. After several seconds of working on the arrow they managed to pull it out. Naruto stood up and turned to face the attackers.

"We have to move!" the officer shouted "We're sitting ducks here!" the blond couldn't agree more with that, he turned back towards the woman that was standing now and grabbed her, he placed her arm around his shoulder and told her to follow him. The group of knight began running through the water, trying to get to solid land, or better yet, to higher ground.

Several knights took a defensive position behind the group; using their shields they stopped hails of arrows from hitting their retreating brethren. As they reached higher ground the group turned around and waited for the enemy to attack, several knights took out their bows and started firing salvos of arrows back towards the strange archers.

However, as soon as the creatures realized the knights had the advantage now they turned around and vanished in the darkness. Naruto was surprised they were smart enough to prepare an ambush and not to attack when the enemy had the advantage, he wondered just what were those creatures. They looked relatively like human beings.

They stood for a few minutes to catch their breaths and to make sure that their attackers were gone, the officer then ordered them to move out stating that if they stood any longer they would only meet their deaths. A howl in the distance only made the knights agree, they had no idea what they were fighting and how smart those creatures really are.

By morning the group reached their destination, a large camp belonging to the company they were supposed to support, they all looked tired and they had a lot of injured men. It was then that the group was briefed on what they would face, it was then that they learned what they would be fighting in the years to come. Naruto couldn't believe it, they were supposed to fight magical creatures and find out from where they kept coming, towards the north at the border there was another war yet they didn't go into detail with that one.

The blond didn't like it, it was one thing to fight a few magical beasts that had no tactic and it was another to fight humanoid magical creatures that knew how to plan ahead and how to fight their opponent. The officer briefing them reassured them that they would win and the war would be over soon. Naruto wasn't so sure about that.

**xXx**

One year later the blond was still in Pergrande Kingdom, still fighting the war against the magical creatures. Over the course of the year they had lost a considerable number of soldiers and out of the twenty knights only ten remained, the other ten dying in battles. They had fought for half a year in the swamp, trying to clear the area of the creatures and find out from where they kept coming. They had no luck however, each time they thought they found the source the creatures would come from another location and take them by surprise.

After those six months reports had been coming from the towns to the north, people vanishing, dead rising from their graves at night and killing people, strange creatures lurking in the shadows. Naruto as well as a group of soldiers were dispatched to investigate; there were no other forces to send. Once more the blond responded to an officer that had been assigned to the group, said officer however had fallen in battle two months later in one of the towns.

They had confirmed that the dead were indeed rising from their graves at night and harassing the towns, it was during a battle against the undead that the officer had fallen to their blades only to come back to life the next night and fight against his brethren. The mage in their group said that there was some sort of magic looming over the towns, that the cause of the uprising might be another mage – a dark mage. He could not confirm it however as he fell in battle as well.

With no officer in charge the blond took command of the squad, being the one that had the highest rank despite coming from Fiore's knight branch. He led the squad from town to town, gathering clues and trying to find out where the source of the undead was. Yet with each passing week he had lost more men, one or two per week. After a month he was the sole survivor of the group, he couldn't return to the company without any answers, without any clarification on where the source of evil was.

He continued looking for clues, along the way he met with messengers of the company, he communicated with the leader of the company through them and let him know of his quest. The man allowed the blond to uncover the source as the King wanted whatever was causing the undead uprising terminated, he however would not send any help as they were by now completely tied down.

Naruto wondered how news of this war had not reached the lands beyond Pergrande Kingdom, maybe the army silenced anyone that tried to speak of it, most likely they held it under closed wraps to not cause panic. It worked, to some extent, they were left to fight these wars by their own with no support from the other armies, they were forced to hire mercenaries for the jobs they needed to be done. It wasn't his place to question them however; the blond kept his mouth shut and did as he was told.

It was close to October when the blond finally had a lead to the source of the undead; he traveled towards the mountains where a town had reported attacks by the undead. It was recent and rumors of someone or something inhabiting the nearby castle – which had been abandoned for years – made the blond believe that this was where the man responsible for everything was hiding. He sent a message towards the commander of the company and told him of his discovery, he did not wait for a reply however as he wanted to get there before the target would run away.

When the blond reached the town he was greeted by silence, no one was there, the streets were empty despite being noon. He walked through the town inspecting his surroundings, he saw several doors from buildings broken, laying on the ground, he saw a building that had been burned to the ground with skeletons in front of it and this wasn't something recent.

The blond spent the entire day trying to find any living soul, he had no luck whatsoever, by nightfall the blond had lost hope in finding anyone and took shelter in an old tavern. He barricaded the doors and windows just in case there were undead in this town and waited. He felt tired, he wanted to sleep but he knew that he couldn't, there was no one to watch his back in case the undead broke through the doors. So he stood and waited, he waited for something to happen, to get his mind off of sleep.

At around midnight he heard footsteps coming from upstairs, he stood up and unsheathed his sword. The footsteps were coming down, the stairs squeaking under their pressure. With each step the blond became more and more tense.

"You've finally decided to come…" he heard a voice coming down from the stairs, he raised an eyebrow as he thought he had heard that voice somewhere before. "…it's a pleasure to meet you again." The blond's eyes widened as he saw a girl appearing in the room.

She was shorter than him by half a head; she had long white hair and silver eyes. He did a double take as he remembered those features. "You!" he shouted pointing the sword towards her, the girl smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"So you remembered." She said with a happy smile making the blond lower his sword a bit. "You must have questions…they will be answered in time, I assure you." She said with a small smile.

"How did you know I'd be here?" he asked as the girl chuckled slightly and shook her head.

"It was I that sent that rumor in your direction." She replied as the blond narrowed his eyes. The girl moved her hands away from her chest and towards her leg, she pulled up her dress making the blond freeze and wonder what she was doing. It was then that he noticed the dagger from years ago, the girl took it in her hand and twirled it through her fingers. "Now…" she began, her smile never leaving her face. "…I believe its time for us to go." She said as the dagger glowed for a second.

The door was suddenly bashed down, an armored figure stepped inside the room. The windows cracked and the makeshift barricades that the blond created where flung on the floor, numerous corpses jumped through the windows and moved towards the blond. Fire spewed around him in three corners as three fire wraiths, identical to the one he had slain years ago appeared in the room.

"I'm terribly sorry for doing this." The girl said, Naruto didn't know if he should be pissed at that or believe her as she sounded sincere about what she just said. "But father wouldn't like it if you knew the way inside." She said as the creatures charged towards the blond.

Naruto swiped his sword in front of him cutting down three of the corpses down. He moved back as the armored creature appeared in front of him and slammed a massive axe in the ground in front of the blond. "You idiot, don't kill him!" the girl shouted as the armored creature threw its axe away and moved to punch the blond.

The knight ducked under the armored creature and moved to cut it in half only to be hit in the side by a fireball. He was sent flying through the wall and landed in the street, in the middle of a horde of undead corpses. He groaned as he stood up and tightened his hold on his sword. Naruto charged forward towards the undead cutting his way through them, planning on opening a path through which he could make his escape.

The girl grinned as she had expected this, she watched as the blond cut through the large number of undead with ease yet no matter how many he killed they just kept coming. The three wraiths's charged out of the house and started hurling fireballs towards the blond, Naruto saw them coming and jumped out of the way, the fireballs hitting the undead he was confronting.

Finally, the armored creature stepped outside as well and moved towards the blond. The knight was slowly getting overwhelmed; even with all his training he didn't think he would survive this. His eyes widened as he saw another fireball heading towards him, he brought his hands up as he didn't have enough time to dodge it. The fireball hit him head-on sending him flying through the group of undead.

He shook his head as he tried to stand up, his eyes narrowed as he saw the armored creature in front of him. It grabbed him by the collar and started slamming him on the ground, the blond coughed as the creature grabbed him by the head and hurled him in another wall. Naruto crawled out of the ruins, he saw his helmet laying on the ground in front of him, cracked in half.

A foot suddenly stepped on it shattering it, he looked up at the armored creature. _"Power…"_ a voice whispered in his mind, the blond thought it was the creature before him that spoke._ "You have the power to fight…use it…use us!"_ the same voice called out once more. His eyes widened as he heard that, was his magic starting to speak to him? Or was he going insane?

The creature suddenly moved to strike him, the world around him froze and darkened as the blond found himself laying on top of a floating rock in the middle of a dark abyss. He slowly stood up and looked around, there was nothing, it was quiet.

"_**Use your powers boy."**_ He heard the voice from before call out.

"Who are you?" the blond shouted.

At first the voice said nothing, it stood quiet making the blond wonder if it would ever speak up. Then, before the blond could question it again it spoke up. _**"We are your power, we are the ones you summon, we are your servants. Use us!"**_ it ordered making the blond take a step back and narrow his eyes.

"Do you think I'll listen to you? Do you really think I would use you?" he shouted in anger towards the voice. "You ruined my life! I don't need you!" he shouted.

The world became quiet once more, then the ground under the blond's feet began to rumble, a pair of red eyes appeared in front of him, glaring towards him. _**"You will regret it, that woman will be the death of you."**_ It spoke trying to make the blond understand why he needed to use his powers.

"I'd rather die!" he spat out as the ground trembled and started shattering under his feet.

"_**Very well then."**_ The voice spoke up as the ground shattered under the blond who started falling in the dark abyss. The eyes watched him as he fell, a malicious laughter echoing around him before his entire world went dark. _**"If you won't use us…we'll just use you…"**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Once more, new armor, you can find the picture on my profile. Next update is during the zombie apocalypse of 2012 (not really). And before I forget: **

**- Vetis : Demon of Corruption**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 8**

"_Are you sure?"_ a feminine voice questioned.

"_Yes, it's him…I can feel it…"_ another one replied, a male. _"Watch over him, obey his orders."_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, the sun's rays blinded him for a second making him cover his face with the bed sheets. He finally opened his eyes and blinked while looking at the sheets; he stood up and looked around. He was in a bed, in a large chamber fit for royalty; he was dressed in a pair of black pajamas with golden stripes on them.

The blond looked around not understanding where he was or why he was in such a fancy place, the events from before blacking out replayed through his mind, he knew he couldn't be dead since he heard the girl say that she needed him alive, but if she did capture him why was he in such a place and not a dungeon? His attention was drawn to the door which slowly opened, his eyes narrowed as he saw the girl that attacked him in the desolate town.

She looked towards him with a smile on her face as if she wasn't the one that attacked him before. The girl walked inside, closing the door behind her, Naruto looked around the room with the corner of his eyes trying to spot any weapon. "Oh don't worry. I'm not here to fight." He heard her say as he turned to face her.

"Where am I?" he growled making her giggle, she walked over to the bed and leaned down on it towards the blond.

"Why, in father's castle, where else?" she asked as if the answer should have been something obvious towards the blond. Naruto narrowed his eyes further towards her, if her father was who he thought then he was in deep trouble.

"And who is…your father?" he asked as the girl merely smiled and pushed herself away from the bed. She did not answer his question but instead walked towards one of the wardrobes, opening it. She took out some clothes and walked back towards the bed, laying them down.

"Put these on, I'll wait for you outside." She said as she turned around and began walking away. As she reached the door she stopped for a second. "And don't think of jumping out the window, you might die if you do so." She giggled as she walked out of the room leaving the blond alone.

The first thing Naruto did of course was to jump out of the bed and walk towards the window. He opened it and looked down, his face lost all color as he saw how high he was. The blond closed the window and stepped back, it was one thing to climb walls and it was another to run down them, especially when they were so steep. One wrong step and he would be freefalling face first towards the rocks down below.

Grumbling, the blond decided to play along for now until an opportunity to run appeared. He walked back towards the bed and started changing his attire. Once he was done with that he walked towards the door and opened it, outside stood the girl with a smirk on her face. Most likely she knew that he would check the window and see if there was a way to run.

She pushed away from the wall she was leaning on and motioned for the blond to follow her, he did as he was told. Naruto took his time to inspect his surroundings, the place looked like it had seen better days, unlike the chamber he had been in a few moments ago the hallway looked trashed, spider webs and spiders dangling from rusty armors, portraits ripped in half, the wall cracked in a several spots.

The entire place gave him an eerie feeling; he thought that he could hear voices whispering around him, he thought that he could feel something touching him while he was walking. The voices kept calling for a 'master'; he wondered who they were referring to.

The blond tried to strike up a conversation with the girl that was leading him to who knows where. However, he had no such luck; she kept silent, ignoring his every question. It irked him, at one point he even tried to swipe the knife resting on her hip, he was surprised that she was much faster than him; she caught him before his hand could even reach the dagger. Naruto was surprised however when the girl simply giggled at his attempt to arm himself and told him to leave the games for later as they had something important to do.

He even tried to stop and run away, only to slam into the armored figure he had fought in the village before passing out. The girl told him that the figure would make sure he didn't try to run, Naruto was amazed that he hadn't felt the creature appear behind him until he slammed into it.

Finally, the two reached a pair of massive doors at the end of the hallway. The girl walked forward and pushed the double doors opening them with a loud screech, she motioned for him to follow her inside. Without any other choice the blond followed her inside. There he was greeted by a strange sight. The chamber was a throne room, neatly decorated, everything cleaned and arranged carefully, in the chamber on each side there were a large number of hooded figures, all chatting amongst themselves and at the end of the chamber was the fake viscount.

Naruto stopped and narrowed his eyes; he tensed as he saw the man there. Said man however only grinned as he opened his arms in a friendly manner and walked towards the blond. "There is no need to worry master, I'm not looking for a fight." He told the blond, it took him a second to process what he had just heard, the man called him 'master'.

He did a double take, it was then that he realized that everyone around him was kneeling in front of him and that the fake viscount had stopped midway and bowed towards him as well. The girl who escorted him here was also bowing towards him. Naruto was now confused, he didn't know what was happening anymore. He watched as the man stood up once more and walked forward towards him, passing the girl and patting her on the head.

"You must have questions my lord." He said with a pleasant smile making the blond narrow his eyes, trying to figure out what king of game the man was trying to play. "But first, allow me to introduce myself. "My name is Amdis, and this…" he said looking towards the girl "…is my daughter, Sirena." He said as the girl looked up with a small smile, a pair of fangs pointing out. "And we are you servants, the vampires." He finished as his eyes became slits and his canines elongated.

The blond took a step back in shock as he looked around; all of them started discarding their robes revealing men and women, old and young, all vampires. His mind then clicked as he remembered the man saying that they were his servants. He looked towards him with wide eyes.

"Servants?" he asked not believing, he was still in enemy territory, he had to tread lightly.

The man nodded with a big grin showing off his teeth making the blond shiver slightly. "Yes my lord, we the vampires were created by you centuries ago, to serve you until the end of time." He replied to the blond who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The man seemed to miss that as he turned towards the gathered monsters and started shouting. "Bow before your master!" he called out as they all started doing just that "Bow before master Zeref! His reincarnation!" he called out as the blond's heart stopped and he froze in place. They believed he was the dark mage Zeref, but why would they believe something like that? His eyes then widened, his powers, they thought that because he had such powers he was the mage's reincarnation.

He was broken out of his thoughts as the man stepped forward once more. "Master, now that you are back we can strike at your slayers, we can show them what happens when they disobey you!" he shouted as everyone began cheering.

"Wait!" he called out drawing their attention "How do you know I am Zeref?" he asked with narrowed eyes, he wanted to test the waters a little, he tried to sound as convincing as possible, that he was indeed the man in question but didn't believe them.

The man grinned as he replied. "We have been following you ever since we encountered you, we felt your power, it called out to us like it used to in the past. That is something we never forget!" he shouted as the rest began agreeing with him.

Naruto grimaced on the inside; his powers were dragging him into something unpleasant once more. "Come master!" Amdis beckoned as he walked towards the throne, the blond follow him slowly.

As they reached the throne Amdis told the blond to sit, to take his rightful place. Hesitantly the blond did as he was told and sat down on the throne, the vampires cheered and called the black mage's name. Naruto grinned as he looked towards them, inside his mind however he was planning a way to get out, once they realize he isn't said mage who knows what will happen to him.

In the back Amdis smirked as three elder vampires approached him. They whispered harshly towards him. "That is not Zeref…" they growled silently "…he might have his power but that is not our creator."

"Relax." Amdis stated with a smirk "We can always turn him into our leader…and if that won't work…there are ways of reviving the real one." He said with an evil glint in his eyes. They will try to convert him to their cause, if he resists they will resort to several sacrifices of their kin and revive the real one, no matter how much they would have to give up.

**xXx**

Naruto jumped over a fallen armor as he ran down the castles hallway, he glanced behind and saw the large number of vampires chasing him down, slowly gaining up on him. He cursed his luck, the knight jumped over another armor and spun in midair, he threw several knives towards his chasers, only one of them hit its target however.

As he landed on the ground he ran towards the end of the hallway and turned right grabbing the armor that was there and slamming it down, one of his pursuers fell on it, the rest jumped over and continued chasing the blond. Naruto's eyes widened as he dropped on the ground with his back and used the momentum to slide away, as soon as he was out of harms way he jumped back on his feet and continued running only glancing once back towards Amdis who threw the massive axe away and ordered the vampires to chase him down.

Naruto knew this was going to happen sooner or later, they found out he wasn't Zeref's reincarnation and opted to extract his power to revive said mage, he was going to be used as a sacrifice, the host of the dark mage's soul should their ritual succeed. He wasn't going to let that happen. The blond turned left as he came to another end and cursed loudly, for the six months he spent in this forsaken castle he never had a chance to escape, only a week ago when Amdis tried to make the blond slaughter yet another village when he managed to send out a message towards the army as to where he was.

When Amdis realized what was happening he exploded, he captured the blond and tied him, dragging him back to the castle where they immediately started the ritual. Naruto didn't know what happened, the week felt like a blur to him, he remembered a massive rock shattering the wall to the chamber in which he was held and he saw the Royal Army at the bottom attacking the vampires and their undead minions. It was then that he took the chance to escape, only to have the rest of the vampires chasing him.

If that wasn't enough, whatever Amdis did to him in that ritual it was starting to take its tow on him, most likely it failed since he didn't feel any other presence inside him, but he could feel his powers going haywire, just like the explosive lacrima's he had, his powers were becoming unstable and next to impossible to control.

The blond was shaken out of his thoughts as he saw another rock, from the catapults, shattering the walls of the castle. The castle began to shake making the chase end for a second as everyone tried to gain their balance. Naruto saw the door leading to the armory at the end of the hallway, he ran forward jumping over the gap that the catapult had created. He rolled on the ground and got back up on his feet, he dashed forward ad opened the door running inside and slamming it shut behind him.

Naruto then proceeded to block the door with everything he could find in the chamber, he could hear the vampires banging on the door, shattering it slowly. He turned around and inspected the armory, at the very end he saw his two swords, the blond ran over to them and grabbed them, he then started looking around for his armor yet he couldn't see it anywhere.

"Its not here." He heard Sirena's voice, he spun around with his sword unsheathed and pointed towards the source of the voice. The girl smiled as she stepped out of the shadows and walked calmly towards him. "Father threw it away months ago…" she said stopping at the swords tip.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." He growled dangerously, despite his threat the girl only smiled as she placed her finger on the blade and pushed the blade down slightly.

"Because I am on your side." She said with a small smile, yet the blond didn't believe her as he glared towards her. Sirena sighed slightly. "If I were with them I would have stopped you from entering the armory…or from barricading the door…or from grabbing a weapon..." she said with a sly smile as the blond lowered his sword, yet remained tense.

"What do you want?" he asked as the girl smiled brightly and walked over to him placing her finger on his chest.

"To follow you of course, master." She replied giggling as the blond raised an eyebrow. "I've heard stories about Zeref from the elder vampires, I heard what he could do and how he was…I know you aren't him…yet, I feel like you are better than him." She said softly, moving towards him. "There are many more that feel the same, that wish to serve you, Naruto, not Zeref."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow at that declaration. "And why is that?"

"Maybe because we never got to know him, or because your power calls out to us, or that you are interesting…" she shrugged as she answered his question. "…even a few of the elders said they like you more than their original master." She said with a grin as the banging intensified on the door.

"How do I know you won't betray me?" he asked with a growl.

She laughed towards him as she turned around and began walking away. "If I wanted to I could have done so by now…" she said winking towards him. The girl stopped in the middle of the chamber, next to a crate. She kicked the crate away revealing a hole in the ground. "If we use this we can reach the underground caverns, from there we can escape before father can even reach said caverns." She said with a smile as the blond walked towards her and looked down the hole.

"And how are you sure they won't just jump down after us?" he asked though the only answer he got was a sly smile from her. He scowled as he looked down and then towards the door, finally he looked at the girl. "You first, I still don't trust you, if it's a trap down there you get to trigger it first." He said as the girl only shrugged and jumped down.

Seconds later the blond heard something snapping, he turned around and saw a curtain falling down on the ground revealing a large number of explosive barrels next to the wall, ready to explode any second. His eyes widened as he turned towards the hole and jumped down, the barrels exploded seconds later.

Naruto fell through the tunnel with the explosions blast racing after him, he looked up, his eyes widening as he saw it catching up. He then looked down, he couldn't see anything, everything was pitch black. Finally, the tunnel ended, a splash was heard, the blast from the explosion temporarily illuminated the area drawing the blond's attention. He swam up and as the light died down he took a deep breath as he reached the water's surface.

Light suddenly broke through the darkness illuminating the area. He saw a hand offering him help, he looked up at the vampire and narrowed his eyes, he grabbed a ledge and got out of the water, Sirena sighed as she stood up and walked away. "You could have warned me." She heard him growl, the girl only giggled.

"You didn't ask." She replied as she began walking away.

"Where are you going?" he inquired as the girl kept walking.

"If you want out follow me, if you want to wait for father…just wait here." She laughed making the blond growl. He followed her nonetheless; he had no other chance of getting out of here. He was surprised that the girl before him wasn't lighting the torches, it seemed like the torches reacted to her presence, each time she got closer to a torch it would lit by itself and then the flame would die out once she was farther away.

The two walked in silence for several minutes until they reached another large chamber in the caverns. A series of torches lit up, the blond unsheathed his sword as he saw several vampires in the chamber with him and the girl. Sirena however only smiled.

"No need to be alarmed, they are the ones I've been telling you about, the ones that wish to follow you." She said, to prove it they bowed towards the blond, yet that alone did not make the blond trust them anymore than he already did, which wasn't very much to begin with.

"Princess…" one of the vampires said, an elderly one as he stepped forward. "…the normal route is blocked off, the knights destroyed it with their machines." He said as the girl frowned at the news.

"Seems like the only way out is through that room." She said to herself.

"But no one has been able to open it in years!" the same vampire called out once more. The girl however ignored him and turned to face the blond.

"It will open now." She said making the blond narrow his eyes as everyone looked towards him. "Come, there is no time to waste, I'm sure father will find some way to reach us, even if he has to dig the ground to reach the caverns." She said walking away towards an unlit hallway.

One of the vampires stepped forward towards the blond and gave him a lit torch; the blond took it and followed the girl, the rest of the vampires behind him. "What is this … room you talk about?" he asked her as they left the large chamber.

The girl did not reply at first, after a few minutes of silence however she told him what it was. "The room used to be Zeref's library, where he kept all his secrets. It only opened for him, you can't break the doors, you can't break the walls…it's like an impenetrable fortress." She told him.

"No one apart from Zeref has ever entered that room." He heard one of the elder vampires say making the blond raise an eyebrow.

"And why would we be able to …" he stopped however as realization hit him, he glared towards the girl, she assumed that if he had a power similar to that of Zeref he could open the door.

The girl grinned towards him as she kept on walking making the blond realize that that was indeed the case. They walked for minutes, with each step they took the blond felt stranger and stranger, he felt his power surging out of his body. Looking around he noticed that everyone was looking at him with the corner of their eyes, they could feel his power surge.

Finally, they came to a stop. By now his power was going completely out of control, he grit his teeth as he thought he would explode. He looked at the door in front of them, it had numerous drawings on it and strange symbols that he had never seen. Instinctively he walked forward and placed his hand on the door, on one of the symbols. Power erupted from his body and shot in the door, the blond howled in pain as he felt like something was stabbing him, like a thousand needles were stabbing him and taking out his blood.

After several seconds of agonizing pain a click resonated through the dark hallway and the door began to open. Naruto felt someone picking him up, he didn't realize that he had fallen on the ground until then. He looked up at Sirena; she was staring with wide eyes in front of her. Light began to flood them making him turned towards the door as well. What he saw left him with his mouth hanging open.

The room before them, it was no room, it was a massive chamber, bigger than anything he had seen before. It was like five throne rooms put together to create it. There were bookshelves everywhere, chairs, tables. Slowly they began walking forward; Naruto managed to get a hold of his senses and walked in front of the group. As they all stepped inside the doors closed behind them, none of them paid any attention to it, they were amazed by the contents of the chamber.

Naruto looked at one of the bookshelves; it was filled with aged old books. He took one out and looked at it, his eyes widened; it was a book about parallel dimensions. He opened it and his eyes widened even further, it seemed like the book had been written by Zeref himself, inside it said about parallel worlds from where Zeref took creatures, from where he took the inspiration to create his own. It even said about the mythological heaven and hell, yet most of it was scribbled out as if Zeref didn't want to write about it or wanted to hide the truth about the two.

He suddenly felt a pull, the blond placed the book back and began walking forward. Sensing his movement the rest of the vampires followed him, thinking that he was heading towards the exit. They walked through the maze of books until they reached what Sirena believed as the center of the chamber. There, on a podium, stood an armor rack. A strange armor like nothing they had ever seen was placed on said rack, it looked like someone had been taking care of it ever since Zeref died, there wasn't a speck of dust on it.

They could feel it however, there was something strange about that armor, it seemed to be radiating a power of its own as well. Naruto however felt the pull coming from the armor; he walked towards it as if in trance, he felt like he needed to take it. A hand suddenly grabbed his snapping him out of his dream-like state, he turned towards Sirena who was looking at him, she seemed troubled.

"Master…" she whispered "…I don't think we should…touch it." She said sparing a glance towards the armor. The blond looked at her and then towards the armor, he looked back at the girl and freed his hand.

"Don't worry." He whispered as he turned around and continued walking towards the armor.

The armor seemed to be a mix of scales –of what kind, the blond had no idea – and plate armor. On the chest piece there was a golden symbol of a dragon's head with four smaller symbols going down towards the side, two on each side. The shoulder pads seemed to have been created from four separate pieces, placed on top of each other, a golden stripe separating each other. The leggings consisted of an undergarment similar to that which samurai's use, only it was made from scales and golden metal. Finally, the helmet was made out of plate, with a T shaped opening in front, a dragon emblem on the front of the helmet, its back end curved slightly upward.

The knight stopped in front of the armor and moved his hand towards it, he touched the material, nothing happened. He moved his hand over the chest piece touching the dragon emblem. The blond gasped in pain as he felt a burning sensation in his chest, his power burst from his body encompassing him and the armor, the vampires covered their eyes as the intense light could hurt their eyes. They heard the blond scream in pain and began to worry, they wondered what was happening.

After a few seconds the light died down and they looked towards the armor rack, they saw the blond standing there, dressed in the armor that once stood on the rack. He was kneeling down and panting, the blond raised his hands up to his face and turned them inspecting the armor. He stood up and looked towards the vampires who looked at him in wonder, they couldn't see the boy's face despite the fact that the opening was large enough; they couldn't even see his eyes. It was like the darkness of the helmet ate the blond's face and his eyes.

Naruto finally walked forward and shook his head, he looked back up and now they could see his face and his eyes. "My lord?" one of the vampires asked "Are you alright?" he inquired.

The blond looked at him in silence. "Yea…" he replied slowly "I'm alright…" he looked towards the armor rack in wonder. "I feel a bit better now." He sighed as he dropped on his knees again clutching his chest in pain, he coughed up blood.

Sirena rushed to his side. "Damn it…" the blond grumbled "…what did your father do to me?" he growled out as the girl helped him on his feet.

"I wish I had an answer to that." She replied regretfully. "Come on, lets find a way out of here." She said as they began walking away once more.

After a few minutes of wondering through the chamber they found another door, like before the blond walked forward and placed his hand on it, the door opened and darkness greeted them. They took their chance and started walking out of the chamber, guiding the blond through the darkness. The doors closed behind them as they all left.

Naruto was glad that he had someone to guide him through the darkness, he couldn't see anything in front of him. A few times he tripped on stones only to have Sirena catch him. Finally, they could see the light at the end of the cavern; they walked towards the light cutting through veins and into a forest. Sirena looked around and grinned as she saw the castle to their right, not very far away though. The sounds of battle could still be heard and the sun was still high in the sky.

The girl looked toward the blond as he moved away from her and sat down on the grass, he seemed to be in pain as he kept clutching his chest.

"It seems like whatever Amdis did to Naruto is affecting his magic stream." One of the vampires stated walking forward.

"Can you help him?" the girl asked, the man however shook his head as he looked towards her.

"Only a mage can help him." He replied as the girl frowned.

"We can't let him go to them, if they have their mages inspect him they might discover his power and you know what will happen then." She said with a glare towards the man. Said man nodded as he looked towards her.

"I know, but it's the only way." He said stepping back.

Sirena sighed as she looked towards the blond, she walked up to him and kneeled down in front of him. Naruto looked up at her panting heavily. "Will you guys be alright?" he asked her making the girl smile slightly.

"Don't worry about us, we have places where we can hide. Do you think you can reach the encampment?" she asked as the blond looked towards the village in the distance and nodded. The girl nodded back and looked at the vampires, she told them to head out and that she would follow them shortly. She turned to face the blond one more time and extended her hand towards him, she opened her palm.

The blond watched as something began to materialize in her hand, in a few seconds the banner of Kimos appeared in her hand. It was damaged, the pole holding the flag was ripped in half and the banner itself had several holes inside it. "Father tried to destroy it…I managed to salvage it however." She said as the blond placed his hand on it.

"Thank you." He replied slowly as he took it from her hands and stood up. He looked at the girl who handed him his swords, he didn't even realize he had dropped them; the blond took them nonetheless and thanked her once more.

"Go…and take care of yourself." She said as she backed away. "We will find you later, master." She finished as she turned around and vanished in the forest.

Naruto chuckled slightly as he turned around and slowly made his way towards the encampment.

**xXx**

The general of the Fifth Royal battalion surveyed the battlefield with pride; his men were driving back the monsters, the demons. They were slaughtering each and every one of them; he wondered however if the knight that told them about this place was still alive in the castle they were now turning into dust. He had sent a special unit inside to find him yet they came out empty handed.

The man looked to his right as he saw a scout approaching, the man saluted as he began relaying the message. "Sir, our patrols found a knight bearing the standard of Castle Kimos, Fiore." The general raised an eyebrow, 'a knight' was not what he was looking for, he was looking for 'the knight'.

"What do you mean? Isn't he the one that got recruited?" he asked as the scout hesitated for a second.

"We…aren't sure, he is wearing a different armor from the one he wore when he vanished." He said as the general ordered to be taken to see the knight they found. He felt someone appearing next to him and spared a glance in his direction, he saw the councilman from Fiore, he had been sent here three months ago to find the last surviving knight and re-call him as his duty came to an end.

The general didn't know what made the knight so special that the King allowed him to return home after only a year of service, considering he had vanished for three months. But it wasn't his place to question his lord's decisions.

The group walked in silence towards the location where the knight was held, the only sounds that could be heard where those from the battle taking place not far from their location. After a few minutes they reached the makeshift medical part of their encampment, in the middle stood a small detachment of scouts and several field medics that were trying to heal the unknown knight.

"That's him alright." The councilman said as he looked at the knight's face, his helmet was laying on the ground next to him.

"What's wrong with him?" the general asked as one of the medics looked at him.

"We don't know sir, we don't see any wounds and …"

"Why didn't you remove his armor?" the general interrupted the medic who replied immediately.

"We tried sir, but we can't." he replied making the man raise a questioning eyebrow. "It's like the armor is stuck to his body sir." He clarified as the councilman walked forward and kneeled down next to the moaning knight.

"Let me see what I can do." He said as he moved his hand over the knight's body, light surrounded his hands and the knight's body, he stood there for several minutes before he sighed, ending his spell.

"Well?" the general asked impatiently.

"Magic poisoning." The mage replied lowly. "I don't know how to cure that, he needs to be taken back fast."

"He will die on the way though." The medic argued, the mage however shook his head at that.

"No, I can keep him stable throughout the journey."

The general stepped forward. "You said magic poisoning, what is that?" he asked "Is he under their control?"

The mage shook his head at the second question. "No, it seems like our … monsters tried to suck his life out but failed, he won't turn against us but will die if we don't send him back soon." He replied.

"Why back to Fiore? We have mages not far from here that can heal him." The general retorted.

"This type of poisoning can only be healed by certain mages, or better yet, but the magic they left behind in the special chambers in the few selected castles around our lands." The mage said making the general grunt in reply, he knew what the man was saying.

The general grunted once more as he turned towards his knights. "I want the fastest rider to prepare to depart." He ordered only for the mage to interrupt him.

"There is no need for that, I can teleport ourselves to the border of the kingdom and take a train from there." He said making the general suspicious. "One of the benefits of being a councilman, you get your own train." The man said with a smirk as the general rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Fine, do as you wish, I have a battle to finish here." He said walking away, the knights all stood up and followed their leader, leaving the wounded knight and the mage alone.

The mage laughed silently as he drew several runes on the ground, he grabbed the knight's belonging, _"Things went better than expected, now for step two."_ He thought to himself as he and the knight vanished in a blinding light.

**xXx**

Everything was like a blur for the blond, he remembered hearing Siegrain's voice, he remembered hearing someone calling out his name, someone he knew, but he wasn't sure. Then he could hear a dark voice laughing, saying that the time was nearing, nothing made sense to him. He didn't know how many days had passed since he escaped, he didn't know where he was or where he was heading to.

The blond tried to open his eyes, he could barely open them, the sun was shinning on his face yet he couldn't feel its heat. The boy looked to the side, he saw an armored figure, he could hear someone shouting to move faster. He turned to face the sky once more, yet his eyes were drawn towards a banner, his castle's banner. It wasn't the one he carried with him in battle, this one wasn't damaged. Was he home? Did Siegrain really take him home? He couldn't believe that.

"Hang in there Naruto!" he heard someone shout, he thought he recognized the voice. "You'll be alright!"

Once more the world faded around him, when he woke up he saw the doors of the mage chamber in front of him, the chamber that the few mages which traveled to Kimos used to replenish their powers. He saw the doors open and the knights taking him inside the chamber, a spiral room with pylons sustaining the roof.

"Siegrain said to place him in the middle, hurry!" he heard someone order, that same familiar voice.

"Father?" the blond rasped out, the reply was almost instant.

"Don't worry Naruto, he said this will heal you." The man replied, Naruto felt the knight slowly placing him down on the ground, in a kneeling position. He could then hear them leaving the chamber and shutting the doors behind them, as soon as the doors were shut, all hell broke loose.

**xXx**

Mirajane sighed as she cleaned the makeshift bar's counter. She looked towards master Makarov and the few Fairy Tail mages that were rebuilding the guild. Two days had passed since the battle with Phantom Lord, everything was slowly returning to normal. She still couldn't believe however that they had lost their guild, that someone went to such great lengths to destroy them.

Then there was Luxus and the things he said, she shook her head trying not to think about that, she only got furious when she thought about that bastard and it only made her want to punch someone or break something, the last thing they needed now is to destroy something.

She began to think about the knight, he had yet to visit them again, another year had passed since she last met him. It made her wonder just how busy he was or if he was trying to avoid her. Mirajane shook her head, they barely knew each other, why would he be interested in coming to see her time and time again? Surely he had more important things to do.

The table cracked under her hand, she blinked for a second and sighed, why was she getting angry? She decided to do something else to take her mind off the blond.

"Mirajane!" she heard Makarov call, she looked towards the guild master and walked towards him.

"Yes master Makarov?" she asked with a smile, maybe he had something for her to do to take her mind off of things.

"I need to head to Onibus for something important, would you like to come with me?" he asked as the girl's eyes widened.

"But what about the guild?" she asked as the small man waved his hand in a dismissal manner.

"Erza will look after it, we will only be gone for a day or two." He said as the girl thought over it for a second, she smiled and nodded happily.

Makarov went to talk to Erza, letting her know that they would be gone for a day, or two, and that she was in charge for the time being. The girl wished them good luck and returned to monitoring the two trouble makers, Natsu and Gray, Mirajane saw Lucy helping them out as well, though she looked like she could use a hand. A small giggle escaped her lips, she wanted to help her but she couldn't for now.

The two made their way to the train station, on the way Makarov told her that they needed to pick up a package from Onibus from Mistgun who was waiting for them there. When she asked why he couldn't come to the guild to deliver the package he didn't reply, opting to stay silent. She wondered what the reason was however, but didn't ask further.

In truth, Makarov had no idea as well, the letter from Mistgun said that there was something important for him to see and that he and Mirajane should head over to Onibus. Sadly, the only train to Onibus would be going through Tatcha as well instead of taking the direct route.

After a few hours the train was getting closer to Tatcha, the closer they got the more unnerving it became. Makarov felt that something was out of place. They heard people gasping and whispering amongst themselves, they were all looking in the same direction. He then heard Mirajane call him.

"Master, something is not right." she pointing out the window of the train, the man looked out and his eyes widened as he saw the castle in the distance burning, at least one of the towers was. Smoke was rising from multiple locations as well.

"You're right." He mumbled as he jumped down from his sit. "Come, we need to see what's going on." He said.

"What about Mistgun?" the girl inquired as the guild master looked towards her.

"Something tells me this is what he wanted me to see." He replied grimly, he had a gut feeling this is why Mistgun wanted him to leave for Onibus with this exact train.

As they reached the station the train started coming to a halt, Makarov noticed several Guardsmen motioning for the train to go, to leave the station. He felt the train moving faster and looked towards Mirajane, they opened the door and jumped out of the train, the Guardsmen ran towards them.

"Are you insane? You could have died!" one of them shouted. Makarov stood up and dusted himself, he looked at them with narrowed eyes; it was then that they recognized who the small man was.

"What's happening to the castle?" he asked as the guardsmen looked at each other and then back at the man.

They hung their heads in shame. "We don't know, we saw it burning and we proceeded with protocol, evacuating civilians and forcing all trains to leave." They replied as Mirajane looked around, the station was empty.

"Mira…" she heard the small man call out. "…lets go, we have to investigate this." He told her as the girl nodded and ran after him.

As they left the train station they noticed that the streets were empty, though they could see people looking out of their homes through the windows and some running inside. Guardsmen were running towards the castle as well, she saw several knights making their way to the castle.

They ran out of the town and up the hill towards the castle, the closer they got the stronger the smell of smoke and the heat of the flames got. As the castle walls came in sight cries of pain reached their ears, the sounds of battle reached Makarov's ears as he enlarged his body slightly, preparing for battle.

Upon reaching the gate they saw it was closed and intact. Makarov enlarged his body further and picked Mirajane up, he turned to face the interior of the castle and his eyes widened in horror. Inside the knight and guardsmen of Kimos were fighting with skeletons, ghouls and even lesser demons.

"Master…" he heard Mirajane call out. "…I feel…something…from the castle." She said in a weak voice.

"What do you feel?" he asked as the girl stared at the castle.

"I'm not sure…it's like a pull, like something is calling out to me." She replied with uncertainty, the man grimaced as he looked down and stepped over the walls and on top of several attackers, squashing them under his feet. He placed Mirajane down and reduced his height to that of an average man.

One of the knights ran towards them. "Thank God you mages arrived." He panted as he bent forward grabbing side.

"What's happening here? How did this happen?" Makarov asked as the man took a deep breath and began telling them what happened.

"We don't know for sure, one moment we were training outside and the next the doors from the castle were flung open and a swarm of undead and demons charged out." He said as he turned around and unsheathed his sword, a skeleton was charging straight towards him. It didn't get to reach him as a massive hand slammed down on top of it shattering it.

The knight sighed in relief as he turned to face the mages once more. "So they're source is from inside the castle?" Makarov couldn't believe that, the man nodded at the question.

"We closed the gates so that they wouldn't get out towards the nearby villages and the town down below."

"But you blocked yourselves from receiving reinforcements!" Mirajane shouted, why would they do something like that?

"We know…" he replied grimly "…but we'd rather fight to the last then have some of them evade us and attack the people we are supposed to protect." He finished.

"Mira…you know about this kind of things right?" Makarov asked as the girl nodded confidently. "Do you know how we can stop them?"

The girl stood silent for several seconds before replying. "She says that we need to find the source of all this and shut it, usually it's a portal or a pentagram. I can close them with her help."

Makarov nodded. "Alright, wait until we're inside them use your magic." He whispered, she realized why he wanted her to use her magic only inside, the knights were fighting demons as well, they might mistake her for one of them and charge towards her.

She saw Makarov talking to the knight and asking him to help them get inside, that they could stop all this. The man was more than eager to agree, he brought up a horn and blew it drawing the attention of the nearby soldiers who finished up their targets as fast as they could and ran towards him.

They formed a circle around the two mages and told them that they would take care of any attackers and that they should conserve their strength. They charged forward breaking through a burning barricade, Mirajane followed Makarov closely as he provided assistance to the knights wherever he could.

The deeper they moved in the castle's courtyard the worse the scenery became, she saw guardsmen impaled on the walls, falling in battle despite Makarov's attempts to save them, the screams of death made her shake in fear and despair, despair that she couldn't do anything to save them, that all she could do is watch them die.

After an agonizing run through the courtyard they reached the doors, the two mages rushed inside as the undead charged forward and collided with the knights who stood behind to cover them. Once inside Mirajane activated her **Satan Soul** against the defenders, listening to her partner she made her way towards the source of the demons and undead with Makarov close behind her.

It didn't take long for them to reach the source of the invaders, they stopped in front of a large pair of doors, on the doors was a red portal which kept spewing out undead and demons.

"Mira, how do we close this?" Makarov asked, he had never faced something like this in all his career, he had heard tales about mages fighting against this stuff during the war with Zeref, he began to worry that someone managed to recreate the dark mage's power.

"I need to go inside, this isn't the source, only the bridge." She told the guild master.

"No!" he called out drawing her attention. "I can't let you go inside there, who knows what's there." He said as the girl shook her head.

"It's the only way to close it, trust me, I can take care of myself." She said with a reassuring smile. Makarov bit his tongue, he didn't want to let her go by herself but he knew that she was right. With a sigh she nodded towards her and told her that he would be dealing with anything that came out.

Mirajane stepped through the portal, what she found beyond the portal shocked her, it was not what she and her partner expected. She found herself in a large room with multiple floating platforms, underneath the platforms was a dark abyss, no matter how much she looked she couldn't find the source of the invaders.

An explosion suddenly drew her attention upwards. She saw something falling from a platform and landing on another. A figure jumped down from the platform from which the first one fell. The sounds to steel hitting steel soon followed, the girl raised an eyebrow as she flew upwards towards the source of the sound and where the figures landed.

Naruto growled as he parried the demon's sword. The demon in front of him looked like him in appearance, the only thing that set him apart were the horns, the tail and its red color. The demon grinned as it swung its sword towards him once more only to be blocked by the blond again, he moved forward and grabbed the demon's head slamming it on his knee, the demon was thrown back.

The knight charged forward and raised his sword to cut the demon in half, only to have it vanish in thin air and appear behind him, kicking him in the back and sending him flying off another floating rock. The blond slammed on another rock down below, he grunted in pain as his eyes narrowed and he rolled to the side. The demon's sword impaled the ground as it landed with it a few feet away from where the blond used to stand.

He jumped back on his feet just as the demon charged forward, he parried its sword and swung towards the side, the demon parried his attack and slammed its hoof in his chest making the blond gasp for air and move backwards, he ducked under its sword and charged forward grabbing the demon. He lifted it in the air and then slammed it on the ground, finally he lowered his sword down in the demon's head only to have said demon vanish once more.

It appeared behind the blond ready to cut him in half. A dark purple beam shot towards the demon throwing it off the rock, the blond looked towards the source and saw another demon there, he growled towards it.

"Wait!" it called out. "I'm on your side!" she said as the blond's senses started to scream, he spun around and raised his sword blocking the demon's sword once more.

"**Stay out of this Lillith if you know what's best for you!" **the demon commanded as the girl glared towards it. Without a warning another beam shot towards the demon, this time it jumped out of the way avoiding the attack, it looked towards its attacker and growled. **"Should have known only a bitch like you would fall so low as to work with mages."** It growled out.

"Lillith said you should shut your mouth Vetis." Mirajane said with a smirk on her lips, the demon howled in rage as it jumped towards the girl taking her by surprise with its great speed. It grabbed the girl by the throat and slammed her on a nearby rock, it then descended towards her slamming down on her body. Mirajane gasped for air as she narrowed her eyes, she grabbed the demon by the feet and threw it off of her, she jumped back on her feet and turned to face it only to have its sword coming down towards her.

The blond suddenly appeared in front of her parrying the attack. "I don't know who you are, but as long as you are his enemy you are my ally." He growled as he kicked the demon and charged forward swinging his sword at its head. The demon only growled as it spun around the blond and moved to strike only to have Mirajane grab it from behind and throw it to the ground once more. Before the blond could strike again however the demon vanished, he cursed under his breath, it was too fast to keep track of it with this sword.

"What do you want from me?" the blond called out, his voice echoing in the dark abyss.

"**Your body…master…"** it laughed as it appeared behind the blond delivering a powerful kick in his side, the blond was throw off the rock and sent falling towards the abyss. Mirajane suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing him and stopping him in mid fall.

"Try and get me up to the first rock, I need the other sword." He said as he noticed the form that the demon had taken, his fox cloak.

"**Do you remember master?"** the demon called out as it began jumping from rock to rock **"Do you remember your tenant?"** it asked as the blond's eyes widened, he began to question himself how the demon knew of the fox. Did it look through his memories?

His eyes suddenly widened as he saw the demon jumping towards them. "Release me!" he shouted, Mirajane startled did as he was told, the blond used that to push her away and have the demon slam into him, sending them both crashing on another rock. The girl was about to race down towards them when she heard the blond shout. "Get my sword! Or we won't win this!" the girl bit her lip as she looked up, the rock in question was high above, she didn't know if she could reach it in time and then the blond once more. Though she knew she had no choice.

The demon grinned towards the blond. It moved forward, Naruto raised his sword to the side and attempted to cut it in half, the demon however jumped over it and appeared behind the blond, it cut his back making him cry in pain. He tried to kick the demon only for it to grab his foot and slam him on the ground.

"**I'm amazed the great Kyuubi died at your hands…"** the demon scoffed as it grabbed the blond by the head and proceeded to slam his face on the rock. The blond suddenly grabbed the demon with his feet and spun slamming the demon the ground. He jumped up and moved towards the downed demon, he slammed his fist in its face numerous times.

"How the fuck do you know about my past?" he shouted as the demon suddenly grabbed his fist and twisted his arm, the blond growled in pain as he freed himself and jumped away, landing next to his sword.

"**Boy…"** the demon started with a grin **"…I know you ran away from 'home'…"** he said with a mock voice as he started moving around the blond. **"…I know of your deal with the Death God…"** it said once more making the blond growl and tighten his hold on the sword **"…you are more home than you can ever possibly imagine…"** the demon laughed as it lunged towards him. Naruto spun around and slashed towards the demon only to have in vanish and appear above him. It slammed its fists on the blond's head making his crash on the rock head first.

The demon grabbed him by the collar and threw him away. **"To think Kyuubi gifted you with this power…pathetic…"** the demon growled as he threw the blond on the ground and kicked him in the chest.

Naruto's hands shot up grabbing its foot. "Just shut up already!" he shouted throwing the demon on the ground and jumping away. "I never asked for this, I wanted to be free!" he called out in anger at the demon.

"**Too late for that!" **it bellowed as it charged forward, only to have a sword fall in front of it; the demon stopped as a grin appeared on the blond's face.

He raced forward grabbing the sword on the way towards the demon. "The tables have turned bitch!" he shouted as he swung towards the demon which jumped back, its eyes widened as it saw the blond vanish and appear behind it. The demon jumped out of the way as the sword cut the air where it used to stand.

It growled realizing that the sword gave him the boost he needed to catch up with it; it cursed itself for not throwing it into the abyss below when it had the chance. **"You think you can just walk out of here like nothing happened?"** the demon shouted, yet the blond didn't stop, he charged towards it striking to the right side, the demon jumped out of the way only to have the blond appear in front of it striking it in the chest with his sword.

The demon howled in pain as the blond kicked it away, slashing its chest once more. The demon fell to its knees in front of the blond, moments later Mirajane appeared behind the blond, the demon looked up towards them and growled.

"**You are doomed if you kill me!" **the demon shouted towards the blond who glared at it.

He moved his sword towards its throat. "Oh? And why is that?" he asked with a grin.

"**Do you have any idea what you have been doing while fighting me here?" **the demon laughed as the blond raised an eyebrow **"You've been summoning your servants, en mass."** It grinned as the boy's eyes widened in fright **"By now they most likely decimated the entire castle's defenders."**

"He is correct." He heard the girl say as his resolve weakened, he moved back a little. "However, not all are dead, master is helping the knights fight back, he is keeping the portal from spawning more." She told the blond who narrowed his eyes at the demon.

"**Fool! She lies!"** the demon shouted once more **"Do you know what will happen now that she knows you carry Zeref's power?"** he questioned as Mirajane's eyes widened in horror at the news. The demon seeing that laughed maniacally. **"Oops, it seemed like she didn't know, hahaha!"** he laughed making the blond grit his teeth in anger. **"No wait!" **it shouted seeing the blond ready to decapitate it **"Listen, if you kill me you will get killed by those mages."**

"You think I'm going to let you live?" he questioned in a tone as if he was asking the demon if he thought he was stupid enough to believe it.

"**What do you think this bitch will do?"** it asked making the girl growl towards it **"She will tell the other mages and they will burn you to a crisp, you will be sentenced to death."**

"And what would you give him?" Mirajane asked with a scoff making the blond spare a glance towards her.

"**Protection, unlike you, you fucking mage."** The demon growled, it turned to face the blond once more with a grin **"Come, you know I won't betray you." **It said.

"Don't listen to it…it lies in all aspects." Mirajane said as the demon laughed at her. "If anything, I promise you I won't say anything." She said slowly, looking towards him, the blond looked in her eyes and saw no deceit, he wasn't convinced however.

"And how can I trust you?" he asked her. The girl smiled as she let her take-over magic vanish revealing who she was.

"Because you saved me and my family, and I still haven't fully repaid your kindness." She said with a small smile making the blond lower his sword a bit. The demon's laughter drew his attention back towards it.

"**So touching, makes me want to puke. Listen, I can give you more power than Kyuubi ever could, more recognition! You would be feared for …"** it didn't get to finish its sentence as the blond decapitated it, its head fell on the ground and rolled until it fell from the rock into the dark abyss, the body falling on the ground in a pool of blood.

"I don't need power, I don't need recognition…I only want freedom." He whispered as the world around them began to change, Mirajane watched as the rocks floated towards them and started to solidify, the world gaining its normal color. She looked towards the blond and saw him change as well, a strange armor that she had never seen appeared on him.

After several seconds the world from before vanished, replaced with the chamber as it used to be before this whole mess started. Yet the screams could still be heard, she saw the blond cringing as he turned and walked towards the center of the chamber where his second sword lay. He grabbed his sword and sat down, assuming a meditating position. Power erupted from around him, the same power that she felt calling out to her when she was approaching the castle gates.

An eerie voice then resonated through the chamber, or was it through her mind? _"Stop!"_ it commanded, that one word held so much power it sent a shiver down her spine. _"Return from where you came, or face __my__ wrath."_ It ordered.

Silence followed after that, slowly the power started fading away; she saw the blond standing up and sheathing his blades. He walked over to her and bowed his head. "Its over…lets go…" he mumbled, he had to come clean now, there was no way he could hide it anymore, he would just have to accept whatever punishment would be given to him.

They walked towards the door; the blond opened them and walked outside. Makarov smiled as he saw Mirajane and embraced her, the girl smiled towards her guild master; he had been worried for her safety. She looked towards the blond with sad eyes as she saw him facing a large number of knights, all of them saluting him, some cheering for his wellness.

Naruto bowed his head in shame, he looked to the sides and saw numerous corpses, he cringed at the sight. "Naruto!" he heard Ronda call out. The blond looked up at his adoptive father as he embraced the blond, he however did not return the embrace being too ashamed with himself. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, when they attacked they blocked our path keeping us on the second floor."

The blond pushed back and took his helmet off; he looked towards the knights in the back and called out to them. "How many died?" he inquired ignoring his father. The knights looked at each other before an officer stepped forward.

"We aren't sure, but all those that were inside the castle at the first floor died, around thirty men died fighting in the courtyards as well…" he replied as the blond shuddered, he looked up towards his father, his eyes hollow.

"We need to talk." He said as the man smiled, he looked towards the mages and nodded.

"Yes you're right, I need to know how these demons managed to invade our castle." He growled out "I thank you for assisting us, might you know how this all happened?" he asked as Makarov looked towards Mirajane, said girl bit her lip before replying.

"I do…" the blond tensed a little. "…but I cannot say." She finished.

The knight commander narrowed his eyes at her. "And why is that?" he inquired as the girl tried to find the right words.

"Father…" Naruto suddenly said. "I also know how it happened, but we must speak in private…" he told him as he began walking away, most likely to the man's office. "And don't worry about them appearing again, they won't." to that Mirajane nodded as the men cheered, it didn't help the blond that they were cheering his name as if assuming that he had saved them.

**xXx**

"So, what did you want to discuss Naruto?" the knight commander asked as he took a sit behind his desk, Naruto was sitting in front of his desk, behind him stood the two mages. Mirajane looked at the blond with sad eyes, she saw him struggling to say it. She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"It's my fault." He replied after a long silence. The man raised an eyebrow at that wondering what the blond meant. "I summoned them." He said looked up towards the knight commander whose eyes widened in horror. "I have Zeref's magic flowing through my veins." He finished as the man started trembling, he shook his head as he started to deny all of it.

Makarov looked at Mirajane with wide eyes as well; she nodded towards him letting him know that what the blond said was true. The man couldn't believe his ears and eyes, in front of him stood a mage that wielded the destructive power of Zeref. That was unheard of.

"This can't be true." The commander mumbled as he stood up and walked towards a nearby cabinet, with shaky hands he opened it and grabbed a bottle of gin, he opened it and started drinking from the bottle to calm himself. He then turned towards the blond with wide eyes. "They're controlling you, they are making you say that!" he shouted as he turned towards the mages. "Help him!" he shouted towards them.

Naruto looked at Mirajane and nodded towards her, his lips moved forming silent words. The girl looked down at the ground sadly and began to talk. "Sir…" she said drawing his attention. "I'm afraid that what he said is … true." She told him looking up at the man who dropped the bottle on the ground, the bottle shattering on impact.

"No!" he shouted "You lie!" he called out pointing towards Mirajane who looked away with a sad look in her eyes.

"Father…she might lie…" the blond said looking up at him "…but I cannot." He told him as the man's eyes widened, the blond took a vow, he was respecting that vow.

He sat down in his chair shaking his head, cursing and mumbling incoherent words. The blond suddenly grabbed his swords, with their sheaths and placed them on the table drawing the man's attention. "I know what will happen now…I accept responsibility." He said with a grim voice as he bowed his head.

The knight commander grabbed his head as he began shaking uncontrollably. He was torn between saving his son and doing his duty as a knight commander, he knew that he had to put an end to dark mages, especially to one that harbors such dark power, yet, in front of him stood his own son, he couldn't bring himself to kill his own son. He might not be his own flesh and blood, but he had treated him as such, he had considered him as such.

"There is no need to kill him." A voice suddenly echoed in the room, Mirajane and Makarov held their breath recognizing it, Ronda unsheathed his dagger and threw it towards the source of the voice, the man caught it with ease and stepped forward.

"Who the fuck are you?" the knight commander shouted as he reached for the blond's sword.

"I am the mage that investigated the attack on your village a few years back…" the man replied making Ronda pull away from the sword.

"You … knew…" he said pointing towards Mistgun accusingly. "You knew about my son's power and you said nothing!" he shouted in rage.

The man however kept his calm and only raised his hand to stop him. "No, I had my suspicion, yes, but I wasn't sure." He paused as he looked towards the blond "In the years after that I researched some stuff, the council was … kind enough to allow me in their library, what I discovered is enough to let the boy live." He said as Ronda's heart started beating faster, he knew that he shouldn't be happy about that.

"What do you mean?" Makarov asked raising an eyebrow "He has Zeref's magic, you know what must be done."

The man nodded without breaking a sweat. "Yes I do…but you mistake on one account. This is no Zeref's … full magic." He stated as everyone looked at him questionably "He has only a part of said magic, a fragment, enough for him to learn how to control it and use it for something good, unlike the full magic, this one is not as corrupting." He told everyone, the blond however looked down, he saw the man lying through his teeth at the last part, this was the most corrupting part of Zeref's magic.

"Even so, it's still a part of his magic." Ronda said shakily as Mistgun took out a letter and threw it on the table, the man opened it and read it, his eyes widening at what he was seeing.

"The council is more than willing to let the boy off the hook, he will have to be watched by an expert mage in the arts of demonology." He finished looking towards Mirajane. "You have the choice, if you wish to watch his every step and monitor him then so be it, if not, we will find someone else." Mistgun said as the girl looked towards the blond who kept staring at the floor.

She smiled slightly. "I'll gladly watch over him." She said as the boy's head snapped up, he looked towards her with wide eyes as she smiled gently towards him. The blond felt his heart beat faster, he was being given a second chance, a small smile appeared on his lips.

Ronda smiled as well, however, his smile dropped as he stood up drawing their attention. "Very well, if the council deems that he can leave then so be it. However, consider yourself excommunicated Naruto, you are not allowed to step in this castle or in the town or villages ever again." The boy's eyes widened at the news.

"But…father…" the man raised his hand as his eyes narrowed.

"Don't call me that…" he spat out making the blond shrink, tears began falling out of the man's eyes. "It's hard enough that I have to do this, don't make it any harder." He begged him; the blond lowered his head and nodded slowly.

"I understand…I have but one request." The blond said, the knight commander nodded and Naruto continued. "Don't tell mother, if she asks, just tell her I've unlocked magic and that I needed to leave…don't tell her anything else." He begged. The man nodded as he turned around to face the window.

"Leave, you have ten minutes to walk out of the castle, thirty to leave the town and never return…and take your swords…a reminder." He said as they stood up, the blond grabbing his swords and walked out of the office leaving the man alone to his thoughts.

**xXx**

The small group was currently walking towards a nearby town to get a train for Magnolia, there was no train Tatcha anymore. The blond was silent the whole trip, his head was covered by the helmet, his face completely shrouded by darkness. One would think that the helmet had erased all his facial features.

As they walked Mirajane discussed with Mistgun and Makarov about the blond in silence, she told the guild master about the blond, she heard him argue with the demon and that all he wished was to be free. She wanted the blond to join their guild, she knew that he would find a family with them and that he would integrate perfectly.

The fact that Mirajane was so keen on having the blond in the guild only made the guild master smile, he trusted her decisions and hearing what the blond told the demon, that he even rejected his offers only reassured him that the blond was a great person. The group came to a half as the town of Tatcha vanished from the horizon, the blond looked back before sighting.

"What's wrong?" Mistgun asked walking next to him.

"I don't know where to go…everything I had was there." He replied in a hollow voice. Mirajane smiled as she walked up towards him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as he looked towards her. "Didn't you hear what Mistgun said? I need to watch over you." She giggled as she walked in front of him and smiled. "And how else would I watch over you if you weren't part of our guild?" she asked him with a wink.

The blond stood rooted in place as he heard that, he looked towards the guild master of Fairy Tail and saw him nod with a small smile on his face, he then looked back at the girl and smiled. "Thank you." He said as a blue eye shaped color appeared where his eyes would be, a soft stream of blue moving out of the helmet taking the girl by surprise.

"Heh…" she heard Mistgun laugh slightly "…so what those books said about the legendary armor is true…" he said cryptically as he turned around and began walking away.

"Hey! What do you mean?" Mirajane called out, yet the man didn't reply to her, he kept walking, ignoring her all the way.

"Come Naruto, you new home awaits." Makarov said as he placed his hand on the blond's shoulder, said blond nodded as the color started fading from his eyes, making Makarov wonder what Mistgun meant by that as well.

In the distance a person growled in anger as his plan was ruined once more, he turned around and made his way to Era to figure out who knew about the blond and allowed him to elude his grasp.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** College started again, means I will get bored a lot and write a lot, few games will take my time but it's all good. On another note, I will deviate…a lot…from the main plot and yet not move on with that plot until my sub-plots are completed (which of course will have a certain impact on the main plot). Enjoy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 9**

Three people walked through Magnolia early in the morning, their destination was Fairy Tail's new guild. People looked towards them with a smile and nodded at two of them, towards the third they looked in wonder, the new addition to the guild – or so they believed – looked more like a knight than a mage, yet the armor he was wearing was nothing they had seen before.

The blond spared a few glances towards the people as they walked by him, staring at him. It didn't bother him as much as he thought at first. Throughout the night the blond had been thinking, thinking on how he was going to control his power, how he was going to learn to use it. It was inevitable now, he couldn't hide it anymore, that's for certain, so the next best thing would have been to learn how to harness it and use it for the right purpose.

"Home sweet home…and nearly finished, I'm impressed." The blond heard Makarov speak, he looked up towards the guild and raised an eyebrow.

"It looks…different from the first time I visited." He whispered as he turned towards the guild master.

The man waved his hand dismissively and smiled towards the blond. "We needed to renovate the place, don't worry about it." He finished with a small laugh making the blond shrug in reply.

The doors to the guild were suddenly flung open as a table was thrown out; the blond heard both Mirajane and Makarov sigh at that. "Already rebuilt and they're trying to tear it down." The small man muttered as he walked in front of the two and entered the guild before them.

Moments later his booming voice echoed from inside making the girl giggled as she motioned for the blond to follow her inside. He complied and walked behind her, entering the guild. The place had been torn upside down, it looked like a battle took place there not long ago.

"…and how many times will you keep destroying the things here while I'm gone?" he heard Makarov shout as he saw the guild members in one placing looking up to the towering form of their master.

The man sighed as he shrunk down and jumped on a table in front of the group. "Now that we settled this I'd like to make an announcement." Makarov cleared his throat as he moved to the side a bit to reveal the blond standing next to Mirajane. "We will have a new mage joining our guild."

The mages of Fairy Tail looked towards the blond who looked back at them; he heard Makarov cough and look towards him. The small man nodded at the blond who looked back at the guild. "It's nice to meet you all…" he started as he looked at everyone. "Some of you might know me…some of you don't. I am Lieutenant…" the blond paused for a second and bowed his head. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked back up. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, twenty one years old."

"Naruto?" he heard someone call from the crowd, he watched as the red haired mage stepped forward. She looked towards him with interest and disbelieve. "You're joining us? What about knighthood?" she asked with disbelief.

The blond moved his left hand to the back of his head as if trying to scratch it and laughed nervously. "My career came to a rather abrupt halt." He replied as the girl narrowed her eyes towards him slightly. "I've unlocked magic and I couldn't operate as a knight anymore…and a rune knight is out of the question for me." He replied with a serious voice, yet the girl managed to detect something else in his tone.

Erza wanted to question him further, from what she knew knights that unlock their magic usually remain in their castles as mages for the castles they serve and are mostly forbidden to ever leave as they would carry out the castle's secrets. "It doesn't really matter what the reason behind it is…" Makarov interrupted her as the girl focused her attention towards him.

"Master?" she asked curiously.

"The knight-commander wanted Naruto to be part of a guild and as such he joined us." He told her with a smile as he turned towards the rest of the group. "However…there is a small problem." He told them as the blond suddenly became stiff drawing Erza's attention.

"What problem?" a blond haired girl asked as she looked towards her guild master with interest.

"Well…" the man started as he scratched his chin "…he is already past the age where young magicians would gradually learn how to use their magic. As such, someone needs to give him a helping hand in controlling his powers. I for one will help him as much as I can, but I will need someone else to help him when I am not around." He told them as everyone looked at each other, none of them had trained someone before, Macao who was not present however would have been a perfect pick.

"Ah, don't worry…I already have someone in mind." Makarov said with a small smile as everyone once again turned to face him. He looked towards Lisanna and smiled at her.

The girl's eyes widened as she looked towards the small guild master. "Me?" she asked with disbelieve as everyone looked towards her equally disbelieving. "But…I've never done something like this before." She said as the guild master chuckled.

"No, no…not you…Mirajane will take care of it, but you will have to fill in her spot." He said with a smile as the girl sighed in relief and then nodded with a small smile on her lips.

"Now that this is out of the way, why don't we start the welcome party for our new member?" the old man asked as everyone cheered, the blond relaxed as he let a smile creep on his face. He looked towards Mirajane who nodded at him with a smile on her face.

"Enjoy yourself Naruto, ok?" the girl asked with a smile as the blond nodded. He watched as she walked away, vanishing in the crowd. He couldn't see where she went as people appeared before him, bombarding him with questions and cheers of joining the guild. The blond laughed as he got to know everyone in the guild, they seemed like a friendly bunch.

**xXx**

Naruto shook his head as he tried to stay awake, the welcoming party last night had drained him, he barely had any sleep and all the alcohol he had consumed during the party gave him a powerful hangover. Still, he didn't want to wait on studying how to control his powers, the minute the sun was up in the sky he was outside, behind the guild in a small garden reading several books.

They covered the basics of controlling ones magical power, of how they can harness it and control it. Everything was explained in detail, the book covering even some of the more rare magical powers; however, it didn't cover his power and it was for obvious reasons, magic like his should not exist, he wondered just how long he was going to be able to hide his powers from the world.

Reading through the book the blond learned that one of the best ways to control ones powers was through meditation, something that the blond usually did in the past…even before he came to this world. To control a demon of such power he needed to have a clear state of mind, he needed to be focused and his metal barriers needed to be strong enough to resist its influence.

He decided to give it a try, hoping that it would also prove to be a solution in his struggle. He stood for hours in the garden, meditating, blocking all the noise from outside and trying to clear his mind. At certain points he thought he heard people calling out for him, other times he thought he heard whispers, he dismissed them all, ignored them.

The blond felt someone tapping his shoulder; he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw the guild master next to him, smiling and waving towards him. "I see you already started working…" he said, pride evident in his voice. The blond nodded with a small smile as he picked up the book laying in front of him.

"Meditation…don't know why I haven't thought about it up until now…" he replied with a shrug as he placed it back down on the ground.

"The simplest of solutions always come harder to mind." the small guild master replied sagely as the blond grinned slightly,

Makarov moved forward and took the book from the blond's hands, he flipped through the pages nodding to himself as he read the contents of the book. After several minutes of flipping through the pages he came to a halt and handed the book back to the blond. "You will need to try and channel your magic in conjunction with meditation." He told the blond who read the instructions.

"But wouldn't that mean…" he started looking towards Makarov.

The guild master smiled as he replied, interrupting the blond. "Yes, you will need to work on that somewhere else, where people won't pry on you." The blond frowned as he looked back towards the book. "Don't worry, I will show you where you can work on it and when I'm not around you will work with Mirajane in the same spot." He told the blond as he turned around and started walking away.

Naruto closed the book and stood up, walking after the guild master. The two walked out of Magnolia and towards the forest, the blond looked at his surroundings as they walked, memorizing the way. The two entered the forest and made their way through it, they walked for several minutes until they reached a small clearing in which the remains of a tower stood. The tower's stairs had been destroyed making it impossible to reach the top of the tower and a large chunk of its wall had been ripped apart, the remains laying on the ground next to it. The blond was amazed that the tower still stood considering the damage it presented.

They came to a halt at the towers base, the old man turned towards the blond and smiled. "This is where you can train freely, barely anyone comes this far out." He told the blond.

"Why is that?" he asked curiously as the guild master chuckled.

"Wild animals." He replied with a chuckle as the blond nodded, they wouldn't pose a problem for him, he knew how to handle them. "And magical creatures." The blond looked towards the old man with an incredulous look. "Ah don't worry, they won't attack unless they feel threatened."

The boy raised an eyebrow at that. "And me practicing this kind of magic won't make them feel threatened?" he asked incredulously as the old man shook his head.

"Most likely it will make them stay away from the area out of fear." He replied with a serious tone as he motioned for the blond to back away a bit. He did as he was told and waited for the old man to instruct him what to do next. "Take a meditating position and start calling out for your powers." He instructed as the blond nodded slowly.

He took a few more steps back and sat down, he took a deep breath as he brought his hands up to his chest and assumed a meditative position. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, he began searching for the source of the power inside of him, he felt it raging like a whirlpool. Slowly he called out to it, he beckoned it to surface. The power stopped moving and lashed all of sudden towards the blond.

On the outside Makarov saw the blond grit his teeth as he felt the power inside of him building up, becoming unstable. "Naruto! Control it!" he ordered as the blond grit his teeth even more and tried to close the 'gateway' towards the outside. As he was battling his powers he decided that instead of trying to contain it again he should let it sip out slowly, he thinned the connection between the outside and his magical reserves.

On the outside Makarov saw as green and purple tendrils started appearing around the blond, moving towards the sky and disappearing, he saw the blond gradually calm down and revert into a state of calm. A smile appeared on his face as he saw that the blond could channel his magic now and not have it burst out, though he could still feel a raging torrent coming from the blond, most likely the majority of his power was still kept in check inside of him.

"Good Naruto…now keep letting small bits of your power to leak out." He instructed as the blond proceeded to do as he was told, Makarov stood and watched with interest as the tendrils slowly multiplied, as they slowly became more wild, yet the blond didn't seem to realize this as his face showed a calm posture.

The man's eyes widened as he saw the blond's power starting to erode the ground underneath him and around him, the grass was slowly dying at the blond's feet, turning into dust. He then noticed the blond's power was becoming unstable yet again. "Naruto, close the connection." He instructed harshly as he saw the blond stiffen, the blond most likely believing that he had let out too much at once.

The guild master noticed the tendrils thinning and dying out, the blond opened his eyes moments later and looked around with a fearful expression, yet he didn't see the landscape changed as he thought he would. Then he looked at the ground and noticed how dead it was, he looked up towards his guild master speechless.

"You were leaking out too much magic." The man said making the blond raise an eyebrow once more.

"It didn't feel like that…" he started explaining "…I kept monitoring it and I kept releasing only small amounts, I never felt like there was too much." He admitted as the old mage began scratching his chin. It was obvious that the blond had unreal amount of magical power inside of him, so much that not even he knew how much he was letting out at a time.

"Lets try again, release even less than before and at a steadier pace." He instructed as the blond nodded and closed his eyes once more.

Moments later Makarov saw as the tendrils began appearing around the blond, once again in small numbers at first but rapidly increasing the more the blond called out. "Cut the connection and sustain what you have let out thus far." The mage instructed as Naruto took a deep breath; he cut out the pathway and concentrated on the small amount he had called out.

Yet the moment he diverted his concentration towards the power floating around him the one he locked inside burst out, breaking the blond's concentration. Makarov's eyes widened as he jumped out of the way, a small explosion echoed through the forest as the blond cursed loudly. The guild master watched in awe as the blond stood up, the green and purple tendrils raging around the blond like fire.

He could see the blond's frustration through his movements, he was trying to contain it once again yet it looked like the power had a mind of its own, it wouldn't listen to him and would only grow stronger.

"It won't work like that." A new voice stated as they both turned towards the source of the sound. Mirajane appeared in the clearing looked at the blond with a mixture of awe and fear in her eyes. "You will need to use it, deplete it now." She stated as Makarov regained his senses and nodded.

"She's right, you should try and use your power now that its unleashed like this, see if you can make something with it." He stated.

"Make something?" the blond asked, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with it.

The old man raised his hands up. "I'm afraid I don't know the full extend of your powers…I know you can summon creatures from the depths, you can take the life force out of any living creature and curse people. But other than that, there is next to nothing that I know about it." He replied dejectedly.

Naruto sighed as he looked towards Mirajane for an answer; the girl looked like she was in some sort of trance, after a few seconds she blinked as she turned to face the blond. "Lillith says that summoning is your best option right now."

The blond gulped as he slowly nodded, the last time he summoned – willingly or not – it didn't end well. "You will have to concentrate, picture what you wish to summon, and take control over it as soon as you call it forth." The girl told him as the blond closed his eyes.

Moments later a skeletal hand shot out of the ground in front of the blond startling both Makarov and Mirajane. They watched with morbid fascination as another hand shot up and started pulling a body out of the ground, a skeleton stood before the blond as he slowly opened his eyes. Naruto looked at it with fascination, the skeleton looked back at him, not moving, it was as if it was waiting for the blond to give it an order.

The skeleton started moving all of sudden; it walked up to the blond stopping mere inches away from him. Naruto grinned as the skeleton moved backwards and stopped where it used to stand before. "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be." He said, they then realized that the blond was ordering the skeleton to move around, Mirajane was impressed that the blond could control a lesser summon so easily.

"It's easy now…but if you try to summon more, or if you try and bring forth greater summons they won't be as eager to listen to you." She warned him as the blond nodded, not looking towards her.

"How do I dismiss him though?" he asked suddenly looking towards the girl. She sighed slightly.

"I'm not sure about it…I think you just order it." She replied as the blond turned to face the skeleton.

He concentrated and ordered it to return from where it came, the skeleton started shaking before it shattered, its bones dropping on the ground, sinking in it. It was as if the ground itself was a quick-sand, slowly devouring the remains of the skeleton. The blond grinned at his accomplishment, as much as he hated his powers he had to admit that controlling an army of those would prove rather helpful.

The rest of the day was spent summoning more and more skeletons, until the blond had depleted all the uncontained magic. As night fell Makarov suggested they return to the guild, the blond however said he would stay behind and continue working, he couldn't rest until he knew that he can fully control his power so it wouldn't burst out anymore.

Despite protests from Makarov and Mirajane the blond remained at the tower, working on his powers, trying to harness it and control it. The guild master and the mage returned to the guild alone.

Once they were back at the guild several of the members wondered why the blond hadn't returned with them, Mirajane told them that he was going to work more before returning, though not even she was sure about that.

Throughout the night the girl felt a strange call coming from the forest, she was more than sure it was the blond's power calling out for Lillith, which in turn called out for her. She couldn't sleep; she thought what the blond was doing, if he needed help, if everything was alright. She reassured herself that as long as there are no spikes in magic coming from the forest then everything is in order, however it didn't last long, she kept wondering if the blond could manage.

At midnight she couldn't take it anymore, she got out of bed, got dressed and made her way towards the forest, towards the location the blond was. The closer she got the ticker the air seemed to become, she felt an immense pressure coming from the blond's location. As the tower came into view so did the blond, she saw him maneuvering the green tendrils around his body like it was nothing.

She then took notice of another person close to the blond, or better yet, a thing. Not far from the blond stood a strange skeleton. Part of its body was covered in a black robe, it was holding a staff with its right hand and green smoke surrounded its body. The skeleton took notice of her and looked in her direction, it didn't act however. The blond stopped working with his powers and turned towards her with a smile.

"Mirajane, you came back?" he asked as the green tendrils formed into a ball in front of the blond.

The girl nodded as she stepped in the clearing. "How did you know it was me?" she asked as the blond looked at the skeleton with the corner of his eyes.

"He described you." Was the reply, something that shocked her to no end.

"It can talk to you?" she asked him as the blond nodded.

"It was scary at first, but you get used to it, I can hear its thoughts and it can hear mine." He replied as he took the glowing green order and started crushing it in his palm.

She looked at what he was doing with interest. "What exactly are you trying to do?" she asked with worry, she knew how unstable his magic was and by the looks of it the orb was formed from his magic, crushing it would set of an explosion. Or so she believed.

Naruto looked up at her with a reassuring smile. "It told me of a spell I can use, I've been trying to make it work for the past few hours." He replied as slowly moved his hands away from the orb which slowly shattered, pieces of it moving towards his hands.

"And what exactly is it supposed to do?" she inquired as she watched the tendrils dissipate in the air making the blond frown.

"It's supposed to solidify and create spikes which I can shoot towards my opponent." He told her as he sat down on the ground and motioned for her to do the same.

Mirajane complied and walked next to the blond, sitting down by the campfire. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Channeling my powers." The blond replied as he watched the skeleton move inside the tower and start climbing the damaged stairs, stopping at the very end where the stairs were gone. It sat down there and began creating a green orb similar to what the blond had moments earlier. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he looked towards her.

The girl blushed slightly and nodded. "Didn't like the idea that we left you here alone…you are part of Fairy Tail now after all." She said with a small smile, she didn't want to tell him that she was worried about him, or that she was worried he wouldn't be able to control his powers; she didn't want him to be upset because of that.

Naruto chuckled as he looked up at the sky. "You don't have to worry, I know I'm not alone, its just … I need to control this before I show my face, I can't call myself a mage without having full control over my power now can I?" he asked with a grin making Mirajane giggle and nod.

"Even so, you shouldn't go through this alone." She said looking at him. Naruto blushed slightly as he looked at her, she looked beautiful.

"Thank you…" he stammered looking down at the fire "…I'll keep that in mind." He finished as he looked back towards her with his usual smile.

In the background the skeleton watched the two interact, it moved its head to the side as it turned back to the orb in its hands relaying a message to the masses. _"Perhaps…"_ it thought to itself as it looked back towards the two.

**xXx**

Birds sang as the sun rose in the sky, Mirajane mumbled in her sleep as she moved her head on her pillow. She heard someone sneeze and her eyes snapped open, she found herself looking at trees and remembered about last night. She stood in the forest talking with Naruto and eventually fell asleep; Mirajane looked to the side and noticed she had slept on the blond's shoulder. A blush crept on her face as she pulled herself away and turned to face the blond.

Naruto stood in a meditating position, though it looked like he had fallen asleep while meditating. It made Mirajane giggle slightly at the sight, he looked peaceful. She moved her hand over his cheek and smiled, he was a great guy, she felt sorry for him for having to carry such a burden. The girl stood up and looked around, she saw the skeleton from last night standing in front of the towers entrance, as if guarding it. It watched her every move, it unnerved her slightly yet she chose to ignore it.

She looked around the campsite and realized there was no food, with a small smile she walked away towards the guild to bring some food for the blond to eat.

As she reached the guild she was greeted by her sister who inquired where she had left last night, apparently she woke her up when she left the house. The girl told her she spent the night in the forest with Naruto, this only made her younger sister tease her and ask her how it felt to be alone with the blond. Mirajane tried to keep her composure yet the blush on her face was ever present during her younger sisters "interrogation".

Quickly deciding to change the subject she told Lisanna she needed to get some food for the blond as he had none and she doubted her would return to the guild and eat. When the younger sister asked if she could come as well Mirajane did her best to tell her not to come as his training was not complete and he needed to work in isolation. It was hard to convince her sister not to follow her, as she left the guild with a bag filled with food she kept looking behind her, making sure that Lisanna was not following.

Upon returning to the campsite she found the blond working with his sword, purple tendrils circled around his sword with each move he made. She walked over to the tower and placed the bags down on the ground and turned to watch the blond as he worked; it looked like the blond was imbuing his sword with his magic, for what purpose the girl had no idea, she stood in silence however watching as the magic around the sword intensified until with each swing the blond would launch a small purple fireball. The fireballs burn anything that they touched, suck the life out of any living thing it came in contact with.

Mirajane shivered slightly at the display, this power, in the wrong hands would be dangerous. She tried to imagine how Zeref would have been in the past, how frightening he was each time he used his magic, this was but a small portion of it, yet still as dangerous.

"Good morning Mirajane." She heard the blond speak, the girl looked up towards him and gave him a small smile.

"Good morning, I brought you something to eat." She told him as she motioned for the bag. Naruto grinned as he sheathed his sword and walked towards the girl; he bent down and looked in the bag.

"Care to join me?" he asked as he took the bag and walked towards the campfire, she nodded happily as she walked behind him finally sitting down to his right.

Licking his lips the blond opened the bag once more and pulled out the food the white haired mage prepared, he handed a plate to her receiving a 'thank you' and took the second plate for himself.

Both of them ate in silence, Mirajane spared the occasional glance towards the blond. Once they were done eating they started working on his magic once again. Mirajane had him work on controlling his magic, each time he got better at controlling a set amount of magic she would have him try and control even more.

As the days passed the blond gradually started learning to control more and more of his magic, he would return every two days to the guild to talk with everyone, to get to know them better. While in the guild he kept his helmet off, at one point people believed that his magic was similar to Erza's, yet the blond told them it wasn't that and kept silent when they asked what magic he possessed.

Natsu was the first in the guild that tried to make the blond use his magic with a spar, though to the blond seemed like the boy had no idea what a spar was as he went full out. Needles to say Naruto lost in front of Natsu, something that didn't shock Mirajane as she knew that he still needed time to perfect his magic before he could use it without scaring everyone. Lisanna and Elfman however were shocked to see that the blond had lost considering he was the one that stopped Elfman in his _Beast _form.

When the blond wasn't training or spending time at the guild he was reconstructing his bombs. He had found a vendor in the city that sold – among other things – lacryma powder, the prime ingredient for him bombs. Naruto learned how to build them in the castle from one of the books there, as a Knight he was allowed to construct them, he wasn't so sure if he was still allowed to do so, but they proved to be a very reliable item in battle when you hand nothing else at hand to fight with.

By the end of the month the blond managed to control more than a half of his powers, he could call it out at will and morph it as he wished, though it was still too unstable for him to create any lasting attacks, this frustrated him to no end. He had a total of three attacks, one was imbuing his sword with magic to launch fireballs, the second was his summoning and the third was a spike trap. He would morph the tendrils into spikes that he could launch towards any target he wished, the spikes, once they hit their target would dissolve and poison the target, sending it into a blissful sleep or making it unable to move.

After a month he told Mirajane that he wanted Elfman and Lisanna to know about his power; reluctantly, the girl brought her siblings to the clearing where Naruto demonstrated his power. To say they were shocked was an understanding, they were downright terrified of what they had witnessed, yet their sister and guild master reassured them that the blond would never use his powers for wrong.

Lisanna was the first to overcome her shock in the following days, being able to speak to the blond normally again. For several days she had been afraid of him, afraid that he was the next Zeref, yet she always remembered what her sister told her, what her guild master told her and she came to crush that fear and accept the blond for who he was, something that made him incredibly happy.

Elfman was cautious of him, while he trusted his sister and guild master he needed time to be sure that what they said was true, he kept a close eye on him yet he never hated him, he accepted his power and what he had to carry; he told the blond that he would still keep an eye on him. It didn't bother Naruto, he knew that the man was looking after his siblings; he was happy enough that he was being accepted for what he was and not feared. The take-over brother didn't hate him, not in the slightest, he still respected him and considered a friend, yet the doubt was still there. The doubt that his power, or he would inadvertedly hurt his sisters was ever present.

After the month in which Naruto trained day in and day out Makarov decided that the blond should be able to take on a mission of his own, the blond was more than happy to do a mission, however he needed a partner for it. The guild master, while he trusted the blond, wanted to have someone else from Fairy Tail be with him in case things went bad. At first he decided to have Naruto show off his skill with the sword so he paired him with Erza to do a small mission in clearing out a fort of bandits.

It took them three days to complete the mission, two days were needed to go and return from their destination and one day to actually clear the fort. Erza allowed the blond to show-off his skills with the blade, she watched as he fought of ten bandits at a time, coming out of the battles with barely any scratches. She was pleased with him, considering he had been part of the Knights she didn't doubt his swordsmanship, she was however displeased of the fact that the bandits managed to land several blows on him and that he didn't use his magic at all.

She drilled him on the way back on how he should have fought, on how he could improve so that no one would even be able to land a blow on him. She inquired as to why he didn't use his magic, yet the blond only laughed nervously at that and told her that Makarov didn't think he was fully ready to use his magic in a mission, hence why he was only allowed to take low ranked missions and go with someone on said mission.

The girl didn't question further on that, but the blond believed that she was suspicious of the actually reason. It unnerved him a little, yet he didn't say anything, he didn't want to think badly of his teammates, his new family.

**xXx**

Naruto stood in the guild reading the newspaper like he always did, a cup of tea lay next to him. It was quiet in the guild, something rare that only happens when Natsu is away on a mission. He didn't mind the silence, nor the loudness when the boy was around, he enjoyed his company, even though he asked too often for a fight.

As Naruto sat reading the news he felt someone approaching him, the blond raised his gaze and smiled as he saw Mirajane there. "Can I?" she asked motioning to the seat. The blond nodded as he rolled the newspaper and placed it away. Mirajane sat down on the opposite side of the table with a smile on her face.

"You're really happy this morning." He said as the girl laughed slightly and nodded.

"Yea, I am…" she said as she looked around and fidgeted in her chair. "…listen, I was wondering if you have any plans for the week." She inquired looking towards the blond.

Naruto scratched his chin as he leaned in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Not that I can think of…only training and more training." He said with a chuckle.

Mirajane laughed a bit as she looked at her hands, she then looked towards the back where Lisanna stood, she nodded towards her and gave her a thumbs up. The white haired mage took a deep breath and looked back towards the blond who was still looking up at the ceiling.

"Ne, Naruto…" she said drawing his attention. "…I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to a resort." She said, a blush appearing on her face. The blond – who was not wearing his helmet – blushed as well at the request and looked to the side scratching his chin. He cleared his throat as he turned to face her once again and replied.

"If you want me to…I mean…I don't want to intrude on anything and…" he said at a loss of words, he hadn't been invited for a long time to go somewhere, the last time he went with a girl anywhere was a long time ago.

"Oh no…you aren't…I got two tickets for posing in the magazine and…I was thinking you'd like to come and relax a bit." She said nervously as the blond smiled and looked up.

"Yea…I'd like that." He told her making the girl return the smile. "I'd love to." He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

Mirajane laughed as well as she showed him the ticket. "It's a resort at the beach…" at this the blond's eyes widened as a grin appeared on his face.

"Sweet, I haven't been to the beach in ages." He said in a happy tone making Mirajane giggle at his reaction. "When would we have to leave?" he asked her.

She pointed towards the ticket drawing his attention. "We'd have to leave tomorrow." She said as the blond grinned.

"That's great, I'll go pack some stuff and …" he stopped as he remembered he had nothing to pack, he needed to go shopping that was certain.

"Something wrong?" he heard Mirajane ask and laughed nervously.

"No don't worry, I'll meet you here tomorrow, ok?" he asked as he sat up, grabbed his helmet and ran out of the guild, heading towards the town.

Mirajane stood there looking at his retreating form with a big smile on her face, her heart pounding in her chest. She still couldn't believe that she was going to spend a week with the blond at a resort, even more so, she couldn't believe that she listened to her sister and invited the blond.

In the background Lisanna smirked victoriously, she knew of her sister's crush on the blond, though being the hot head she used to be in the past she didn't know how to approach the blond other than a friend. Happy with her work she made her way to the guild masters office to let him know of their departure.

The next morning Naruto stood waiting in front of the guild for Mirajane to appear, he was surprised there was no one around, inside the guild he only found Lisanna. The girl told him to take care of her sister and not try anything funny, the blond merely laughed and reassured her no harm would come to her sister.

The blond opted to not wear his armor, he had learned from Erza how to store his armor in a pocket dimension, usually such a technique could be used only by those with an affinity for Re-Equip magic, yet the blond found that he could easily store his armor in a pocket dimension. His sword or the rest of the gear he couldn't no matter how much he tried, so he would have to carry his sword on his back.

A few moments later Naruto saw Mirajane approaching him, she was wearing a maroon dress with a pink bow on the front of it, along with pink trimmings, a blue tear drop shaped necklace, and a white flower bracelet. The blond did a double take at that, her dress was completely opposite of what she usually wore. He stood staring at her; Mirajane laughed at his expression making the blond shake his head and mumble an apology.

"You weren't expecting something like this?" she asked twirling around making the blond cough as he tried to hide his blush.

"Definitely not…" he replied glancing towards her, the girl smirked at him.

"Shall we get going?" Naruto nodded as he walked in front of her towards the train station, behind him Mirajane walked at a steady pace giggling at the blond.

As they walked Mirajane studied the blond, he was wearing casual clothing, something that she had never seen him wear before. Black leather pants, a green shirt with the guild emblem on its back, his sword strapped to his back, a pouch tied to his waist and one to his left leg and finally, over his sword he had a backpack in which she assumed he had the clothes he would use at the resort.

She noticed the blond slowing the pace until they were walking side by side, she smiled at that, at least he wasn't embarrassed to walk next to her as she thought he would be when he first strode off like that.

Naruto however tried to hide his blush each time people turned their heads towards them, it was the first time he walked through Magnolia without his armor, he doubted anyone knew who he was, but they most certainly knew who the girl next to him was. It didn't help that up until they boarded the train everyone on the way kept staring at them.

The trip to the resort was uneventful; the two exchanged few words, mostly Mirajane wanting to know more about his past. Naruto however answered cryptically mostly, he did not want to reveal all his story and she could sense that something about his past troubled him; she didn't press forward, opting only to talk about his training and how it went.

She was happy to know that he could now summon large amounts of lesser summons to control and that he could use more attack spells. Though most of the attacks he learned – along side several curses – were deemed to dangerous by him, he said he would only use those in dire situations. She didn't need to hear that to know of it, in the time they spent together she got to know the blond more and gradually fall for him. Her sister believed it was only a small crush; in truth, it was more than that; though she wasn't sure herself what it really was.

It didn't take long for them to reach the resort, the hotel they were staying in made the blond pause and stare at it in awe, it was a massive structure, something he hadn't seen before in his life.

"Naruto…" he heard Mirajane call, he laughed nervously as he apologized and followed her inside.

He was once again taken aback by the hotels interior, it was luxurious, more than he could afford in a lifetime he believed. While the blond stood watching the interior in awe Mirajane went to grab the keys for their room. She received only one key however, looking at the manager the man told her that the tickets were for a room for two. Her face turned crimson at that as she looked towards the blond who was studying some paintings. Mirajane took the key nonetheless and walked back to the blond.

As she returned she tapped the blond on his shoulder and giggled at his reaction, she told him that they would be living in one room making the blond blush as well. They decided to check the room first before heading out, after walking a few flight of stairs up they reached the room they would be spending the week.

As they stepped in the room they looked around, it had a bathroom, a balcony and a room with two beds. Without even knowing Mirajane sighed in relief, the blond hadn't heard it as he was already out on the balcony looking towards the sea and the beach.

"This place is amazing…" he gasped out as Mirajane walked out as well.

"Yea…" she replied looking towards the beach as well. It extended as far as the eye can see with numerous people already on it and in the sea.

"Hey, let's go for a swim." Naruto suddenly said making Mirajane laugh.

"Fine, but let me change first." She said winking as the blond went red, he watched as she walked in the bathroom and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door closed he let out a sigh.

His mind drifted to the past, he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, not until he knew that he can actually control his powers. He didn't want to loose anyone else like he had lost the first girl to ever love him and looking at Mirajane, he just didn't know what to make of it. He didn't want to hurt her, he didn't want to put her in danger; everything she had done for him up until now, he knew he would never be able to repay her.

He smiled however, he knew that she would also be his friend, that she would always be there for him. That alone made him happy, he had a friend no matter what.

His thoughts were broken as the door suddenly opened; he turned around and watched Mirajane walk out of the bathroom in a two piece black bikini. He felt his heart stop for a second as he looked at her, Mirajane feeling the blond staring at her decided to tease him a bit.

"What?" she asked in mock surprise. "Do I look fat?" she asked dejectedly as the blond suddenly snapped back to reality.

"No, no, definitely not!" he nearly shouted as he waved his hands in front of him vigorously. The girl laughed at him as she told him to relax, that she was only joking and told him to change as well.

It didn't take long for the blond to change and they were both ready to leave, of course he couldn't take his sword with him or the pouches, he left them behind and walked out of the room following Mirajane outside.

**xXx**

Most of their day was spent having fun, for the first time Naruto forgot about his troubles, he forgot he possessed forbidden magic and of all the horrors that had happened in his life, be it in Earthland or the Elemental Countries.

He had to admit, the first three days with the girl had been nothing but fun, he slowly warmed up to her even more, retelling some of his past and more specifically giving her a small view of the war he took part in while keeping some of the major details under check. He was happy she didn't question further about the war, he didn't want her to learn about the vampires.

Thinking about them made him wonder just where they had gone, where they were hiding, more than a month had passed by now and they had yet to show themselves. But it didn't bother him, not in the slightest, as long as he could have some peace in his life he was happy.

Naruto sighed as he walked up to their room, it was their fourth day on the resort and he was exhausted. They spent most of their time on the beach, from early morning till late night and he had to admit, the sun was getting to him now. He had left earlier than usual to get dressed for the night, they would be heading towards the casino, Mirajane wanted to have some fun and try her luck at the games.

The blond entered their room and took his slippers off, he walked towards the bathroom and paused as he looked inside the room. The window was open, he raised an eyebrow at that, usually the one that cleans their room closes the window once they are done. He walked away from the bathroom and as he passed his bed he grabbed his sword and the pouch hanging by the handle.

Naruto walked towards the open window to the balcony and looked around, nothing seemed out of place. He walked outside and looked around, everything seemed normal. He sighed in relief, he didn't know why he was so precautious. As he turned around his eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped as he came face to face with a masked person.

Reacting quickly the blond unsheathed his sword and swung it towards the unknown person. His sword however stopped midair, he felt it hitting something yet it was still inches away from the man before him.

"I see your reactions haven't dulled in the slightest." The newcomer stated with a smirk as he looked towards the blond. "Why don't you be a nice mage and drop your weapon and surrender."

Naruto laughed at that. "Surrender?" he asked as he moved his sword away and moved towards the man "I'm just getting started!" he shouted slamming himself in the unknown trespasser. The man however grabbed the blond by his arm and spun around with him throwing him away. Naruto gasped in pain as he hit the balcony rail with his back.

"Like I said…surrender and no harm will come to you…or your friend." He told the blond, his tone darkening with each sentence.

The blond mage's eyes spanned open as he glared towards the trespasser. "Don't you dare harm her." Naruto growled, the man however only smirked. His smirk dropped as he noticed a green sphere appear behind the blond; reacting quickly the man jumped away as the sphere lunged forward and slammed itself in the doorway exploding and shattering it along side with a portion of the room. Green fumes rose from the ground and moved towards the blond who turned his head towards the trespasser, his eyes narrowed as he saw the blond's own eyes changing color in a shade of green.

"You really are the key…" he whispered to himself as he started laughing maniacally. "I should have done this long ago!" he shouted as he moved his hands towards Naruto who was much farther away from him. A pair of dark-colored arms appeared from every direction grabbing the blond by the neck and arms, immobilizing him. "Now that I have your attention..." the man started, he was interrupted however as the blond suddenly broke free and lunged towards him.

"_How is that possible?" _he mentally shouted as he they where both freefalling now towards the ground. The mage suddenly vanished in mid fall, the blond felt something smash into him, grabbing him as he was falling, then he was thrown towards the ground with an even powerful force. Reacting fast he summoned his armor mere seconds before hitting the ground.

He coughed as he slowly got back on his feet, before him he could see the mage that he had been fighting. In the distance he suddenly heard an explosion, the mage turned his head towards the explosion. "Seems like my partner found your friend." He laughed as the blond grit his teeth and charged forward. He channeled his magic towards the sword imbuing it with it, he jumped up and cut the air in front of him releasing a large fireball.

His assailant jumped to the side avoiding the attack which crashed with a tree, burning it down to ash. The man scoffed as he moved his hands in front of him, several powerful beams shot from his hands towards his opponent. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the attack and jumped backwards to dodge the first beam, he ducked as the second beam shot over him and ripped a tree in half. The blond jumped backwards once more, leading behind the falling tree, he moved around it as more beams raced towards him.

His cover didn't last for long, it took only two beams to shred the tree's trunk, the third beam scratched the blond as he ran towards another tree he could use as cover. He needed time to prepare his defense, he still wasn't good enough to bring up his defenses in mere seconds, he needed to concentrate. Yet, under all this pressure he couldn't do anything.

However, an idea passed his mind as he stopped in mid run and ducked under another beam. He concentrate, several skeletal hands shot out of the ground and in mere seconds a handful of skeletons rose from the ground. With a grin the blond brought his palms together as a green sphere formed in between his palms, he slammed the sphere on the ground and to his left and right two skeletons jumped out of the ground. Unlike the first ones these two were carrying staves and wearing black robes, one of them was surrounding by lighting while the second had flames spiraling around it.

The blond ordered them to attack; he ordered his mages to defend him while he brought up his defenses. The handful of skeletons charged forward towards the mage who swiped his hands towards the oncoming attackers releasing several arrows of light. The arrows moved through the skeletons disintegrating their bones, yet they wouldn't stop moving. Even without their feet or arms they would still push forward. It made the attacking mage smirk; he hadn't expected less from the blond's powers.

Once more the mage unleashed another series of arrows towards the oncoming skeleton army, this time it razed them off the face of the earth. With a grin the mage brought his hands in front of him once more firing several more beams of light. The blond's mages reacted instantly; they moved their hands through the air gathering the lighting and fire and fired beams of lighting mixed with fire towards the oncoming attack. They collided in the middle creating several explosions; the mages kept unleashing more attacks towards their target, some of them managing the pass the beams and forcing their target to move so as not to be hit.

The mage scowled as he unleashed another wave of light beams towards the two skeletal mages. He spared a glance towards the blond and noticed the power fluctuating around his body; he needed to act fast before he unleashed whatever spell he was preparing. He looked towards his attack and noticed it would fall once more under the pressure from the two mages. With a swift motion the mage moved one of his legs back as he thrust his hands forward, a ray of darkness shot from his hands towards the blond. The two skeletal mages lowered their hands as two fireballs – and two lighting balls – appeared in their palms. They hurled them towards the incoming ray of darkness, exploding on contact.

The skeletons suddenly jumped in front of the blond as the ray of darkness appeared out of the smoke, the ray consumed the two mages and exploded on contact with the blond. The attacker smirked as he stood up and prepared to walk towards the blond. He stopped however as he felt something coming out of the smoke. The man took a step back in fright as he saw the blond emerging from the smoke, his entire body covered in a transparent green like sphere, green tendrils seemed to move out of his helmet's eye sockets. For a moment the man thought that before him stood Zeref himself, yet he steeled himself, this was not Zeref, only a weak version of said mage.

He saw as the blond stopped walking and brought his hands in front of him, a green sphere appeared in his hands, as soon as it appeared it shattered creating several large spikes in front of him. They shot towards the man who vanished from his spot in a bright light. The mage appeared next to the blond who turned towards him, parrying his attack. Once more the mage vanished only to appear above the blond who rolled out of the way making his attacker crash in the ground. The man stood up and turned to face the blond.

"I'm impressed you can follow my movement." He spoke, anger evident in his voice. The blond merely smirked as he charged forward swiping towards the target. The mage vanished however before the blond could hit him, he appeared once more behind the blond and tried to deliver a kick, the blond blocked it with his sword, the man spun in mid air with amazing speed and attempted to kick the blond in the face with his right, yet the blond anticipated the move and ducked.

Before the mage could react Naruto lunged towards him, grabbing him and slamming the mage on the ground. He raised his sword up and prepared to slam it in the man's head until the man raised his palm at the blond, a beam of light connecting with the blond's face and sending him flying away. The mage stood back up and cracked his muscles as he prepared for the blond's next move, he was taken off guard as the blond suddenly threw towards him three small balls. Before he could react they fell on the ground in front of him and exploded sending him flying in a tree.

The mage stood back up and growled as he shook his head. "Enough of this!"

He jumped up in the air and moved his arms in a circular motion until his palms connected, one facing upwards and one facing downwards. Seven pillars of light appeared in the sky by the time the blond finally got back on his feet, the pillars shot down towards him, he had no time to react as the pillars connected with his shield simultaneously. An explosion rocked the area as the blond's scream could be heard, the mage landed back down on the ground and moved towards Naruto's location.

He stopped however as he saw the blond once again emerging from the smoke, holding his side and dragging his sword after him, blood dripping from his armor and helmet. Around him a large number of skeletons stood, both mages and warriors. The mage growled at the sight. "You just don't know how to stay down, do you?" he inquired as he prepared to unleash another attack.

"That won't be necessary." Another voice echoed through the forest drawing their attention. Moments later a body was flung in the clearing, Naruto's eyes widened in fear as he saw the body.

"Mira!" he shouted in despair as he tried to move towards her, yet he stopped as a second mage appeared above the girl holding a dagger in his – or her – hand. The newcomer looked just as bruised – if not more – as Mirajane, panting heavily and barely standing up as well.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The mage said in a distinctive female voice, she bent down and grabbed Mira's hair making her gasp in pain, she lowered the dagger at the girls throat as she looked towards the blond.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Naruto screamed as more skeletons appeared from the ground, his power unleashing and becoming visible around him, it sent shivers down the two mages spines yet they held their composure.

"Surrender and she won't be harmed." the girl stated as she moved the dagger closer to Mirajane's throat. The blond growled as his skeletons made several steps towards Mirajane's captor. "Ah ah…" she taunted as she moved the dagger closer, drawing blood from the contact. The skeletons stopped moving as the blond took a step backwards. "Dismiss them." She ordered and Naruto did as he was told, the skeletons sunk back into the ground, all of them.

"That's a good boy…" she said laughing as she took the dagger away from Mirajane's throat and released her head. She moved her hand in her pouch and threw an elixir towards the blond who caught it with ease. "…drink it." She ordered as Mirajane looked up towards the blond.

"Don't Naruto!" she called out drawing his attention. Her captor scoffed as she stepped on her hand making her scream in pain.

"Stop it!" Naruto shouted drawing her attention.

"Drink it." She ordered once more with anger in her voice. The blond looked at the elixir and gulped as he took the lid off. A foul stench invaded his nostrils turning his stomach upside down. "Drink!" without any other choice the blond drank the entire thing, the effect was instantaneous, he dropped the empty vial which shattered on the ground and collapsed on his knees. Moments later he dropped face first on the ground, not moving.

The mage he was fighting walked forward and lightly kicked the blond, there was no movement. "Impressive." He said as he bent down and grabbed the blond by his helmet, he tried to remove it yet he saw it was impossible.

"What did you do to him?" Mirajane growled out with the little strength she had left. Her captor merely chuckled as she looked down at her prisoner.

"Nothing…I only told him to drink the elixir…a small poison I created." She laughed as she grabbed Mirajane by the throat and threw her away, the girl crashing in a tree and falling on the ground. "At least he complied." She said to the downed girl before turning towards the second mage. "You know what to do…I will keep them off your back." She told him, the mage nodded as he hurled the blond over his shoulder and began walking away.

The girl looked towards Mirajane as she was trying to get back on her feet, she laughed before vanishing in thin air.

**xXx**

"We need a boat Natsu! You can't just swim there!" Gray shouted towards his friend, yet the dragonslayer seemed to be on autopilot as he was adamant on swimming all the way to the Tower of Heaven to save their friend.

"Where do you think we can get a boat at this hour?" he growled out "There is no time for that!" he argued as he continued his walking.

Gray was about to protest once more when they heard movement in the bushes, they became alert and watched to see who would come out. To their shock they saw Mirajane appearing in front of them. "Mira-chan!" Lucy shouted as she ran towards the girl, grabbing her before she fell down. "What happened?" she asked noticing the bruises on her friend.

"I came here with Naruto…" she coughed "…we were attacked."

"Just like us!" Natsu shouted only to have Gray slap him on the back of his head.

He saw Mirajane looking at them with shock and decided to explain. "We came here with Erza for some relaxation, some guys attacked us in the casino and ran off with her." He growled out as Mirajane tried to get back on her feet.

"They took Naruto as well…but…I don't know if they are the same people." She told them as she stood back up, holding her side in pain.

"Didn't they say where they would take him?" Lucy asked with worry evident in her voice "They said they were taking Erza to the Tower of Heaven." Mirajane only shook her head however.

"The girl I fought said nothing, not even after they left with Naruto…I didn't stand a chance against her." She cracked as tears appeared in her eyes. "She controlled time itself, each time I thought I had her…she actually had me…" he rasped out staggering once more and making Lucy grab her before she fell down.

"That sounds familiar…" Natsu whispered seriously as he thought back at the battle on Galuna, he shook his head however, the person he fought was a guy, not a girl.

"I need to find him…I can't let them hurt him…" They heard Mirajane say as she prepared to move out, only to fall on her knees and cough.

"You can't go, you're too injured." Gray stated as Natsu nodded.

"Let us find him…" Juvia replied as she looked towards her. "…they already took one of our comrades, if they are the same people we will find them." She declared as everyone else nodded.

"But what if they are not?" Mirajane asked with a cracked voice.

"Then we'll search for him!" the dragonslayer declared with a thumbs up. "We don't abandon our comrades." He declared bringing a small smile to the girl's lips.

"Don't worry, we'll bring them both back." Lucy reassured her.

Mirajane smiled happily and nodded, giving in to their request. "I'll head to the guild then, and inform the master."

"Alright, lets go!" the pink haired mage shouted as he began moving towards the sea once more.

"You idiot! We need a boat!" Gray shouted towards the pink haired boy who still wouldn't listen and just kept walking forward.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note:** Small request, before reviewing, if you don't understand a certain part in the story I left an explanation for it at the bottom (the one I consider people would try to chew me for)**  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 10**

The world was spinning, his head was spinning. He could hear people talking, arguing, he could hear laughter. Slowly, the blond tried to open his eyes, everything was blurry, his head hurt, his entire body felt like it had been shut down. He couldn't feel his arms, his legs, he couldn't feel anything. Was he actually dreaming? Was he even alive? He could remember the battle with the unknown mage, his surrender. What was he thinking?

Looking up he could see people at the opposite end of his cell, he was in a cell. There was someone else there. He tried to listen in on the conversation, he couldn't understand everything, something about a ceremony and a sacrifice. He felt his head pulsating, a voice calling out to him. Was it his captors? The voice called out again, it was darker, it wasn't demanding, it called him 'master'.

The blond looked up once more as he tried to get a clearer picture on what was going on out there. His vision was still blurred, he couldn't see anything, be it either because of the darkness or his shallow vision. He shook his head, the chains shaking as well making noise.

"Seems like our second prisoner has woken up." This time he could hear thing much clearer than before, he looked towards the source of the voice, no one had approached his cell, most likely they were talking from the other one.

"Who else did you drag into this?" that voice seemed familiar to him, he couldn't remember. The drug, the elixir, whatever he was forced to drink, it made his head hurt every time he thought of something, he felt like puking.

"Jellal wanted him…another sacrifice perhaps." The voice laughed at that as he heard footsteps approaching his cell, he looked up and saw a man looking towards him through the cells bars. "I still don't know why he would need you though…nee-chan is more than enough to revive that person."

His mind was getting fuzzy again, who was that guy talking about? Yet again the voice appeared in his head, it whispered to him, it threw an answer; _'dark mage'_ it said. Where these guys trying to revive a dark mage? "Where am I?" he rasped out, his throat burned with each word he spoke.

The man laughed at that. "He never told you? You're in the Tower of Heaven, this is where our 'paradise' will come! This is where we, the new rulers of the new world, will be!" he shouted, the man was clearly insane.

The Tower of Heaven, he had heard of it, in passing. He couldn't really remember what it was about. He remembered the archives of the castle, a word popped into his mind, the _R-System_. Naruto didn't know what it meant, he couldn't remember what it was supposed to mean.

The blond moved, the chains moving with him as well making noise. He looked up at the chain and clenched his fist, with all his might he pulled. An electric shock traversed through his body making him scream in pain, he dropped on his knees, or at least his body wanted. The chains kept him suspended in air. He heard the man laugh, it annoyed him, that laughter pissed him off. Once more the blond mage pulled the chains, once more the lighting traversed through his body.

He clenched his teeth, ignoring the pain as best as he could, the laughter stopped as his cell guard looked in shock. The wall holding the chains were cracking, the blond looked up towards him, red smoke coming out of his helmet, from his eyes. The man gulped as he took a step back in shock. Finally the blond stopped moving as the lighting ceased shocking him. He had reached his limit in this weaken state.

The man laughed, slowly at first and it continued to accentuate. "Now I know why he took you…such force, you would make sure the system works, you and nee-chan will create _'paradise'_ for us!" he shouted as he kept on laughing. He never noticed the person behind him, approaching him slowly. His laughter ended as he was knocked unconscious.

Naruto once again couldn't hear anything, only footsteps approaching his cell, someone gasped in pain. "Whose in there Jellal?" he heard the same familiar voice question. "To place such a spell on the cell…" the voice said once more.

With the little strength he had left Naruto looked up once again, he noticed a familiar armor and red hair. "Erza?" he questioned as the person in question bent down.

"Naruto?" she asked with surprise in her voice "Is that you? How did they capture you?" she questioned, out of all the people Erza had not expected them to go after Naruto, he didn't seem like anything special.

The blond merely laughed at that. "Was forced to surrender, they would have killed Mira if I didn't." he laughed hollowly.

Erza's eyes narrowed in disgust and anger, Jellal had gone too far, it was one thing attacking her and brainwashing her friends but he went forth and attacked her guild mates as well. She moved forward again and grabbed the bars of the cell, an electric shock traversed through her body. She grit her teeth as she tried to pry the bars open, yet no matter how much she tried it would work.

"Fine…" she spat out as she released the bars. The wind picked up as Erza's armor vanished, replaced with her _'Lightning Empress Armor'_, she moved forward, raising her sword and made a cutting motion towards the bars. The two connected and created an explosion throwing her back into the wall. She growled out as she noticed the bars hadn't been damaged at all.

"Don't…" she heard the blond speak, Erza walked forward towards his cell, the blond lowered his head and shook it. "…go and deal with whoever is behind this, you're only wasting time here." He told her, yet the girl narrowed her eyes and moved forward to try and break the cell one more time.

"Stop it Erza." Naruto growled as he looked up towards her, the red smoke slightly moving out of his helmet once more. "You are wasting time and energy on this."

"You should know by now Naruto that we don't leave our comrades behind." She argued back yet the blond merely laughed at that. He shook his head as he looked back down at the ground.

"Even if your comrade tells you that he could handle this?" he asked looking back up at her, the red smoke vanishing from his helmet. "The one that took me…its obvious he doesn't want me to escape just like that…the answer is finding him and the key to the cell." He argued as he stood up straight, it took all his force to do so considering the elixir still hadn't wore off.

The girl looked at him and then back towards the fallen guard, she walked over to him and searched his pockets, yet there was no key inside. With a frown she turned towards the blond and gave him an apologetic look. "Alright, I'll find him and free you." She said as she started walking away.

Naruto shook his head, smiling slightly. He looked up towards his shackles; trying to find the seal that send the electric shock each time he tried to pry himself free. He sighed as he gave up trying to find the seal, he began thinking of another way to break the shackles. Things like this, he hadn't been taught how to deal with them in the Royal Guard, this was beyond him now. He began thinking of his past, back in Konoha, back then he had escaped more elaborate cells than this, even when he hadn't eaten in days.

Despite the fact that the poison still had him weakened he thought that he could find a way out of this. He looked up at his shackles once more with determination as he began moving his hand slowly, trying to free it without alerting the seal of his attempts. He worked like that for minutes, he had resorted to sending his gauntlet in the pocket dimension in hopes that it would make his job easier.

Though at soon as he sent the gauntlet the shackle tightened around his wrist and when trying to recall his gauntlet he felt another surge traverse his body. He laughed at that, these guys were no fools it seems, they had thought of that loophole. It was still funny though that Erza managed to escape, the leader of these guys was playing some sort of game, a game that the blond couldn't understand.

His wrist was bleeding after an hour of trying to pry himself free, despite the fact that everything looked hopeless the blond did his best to ignore that feeling. Slowly he was regaining his senses, his strength. There was still hope left.

Naruto stopped however, he looked in front of him as he felt he was moving. He could see the room vanishing in front of him, he could feel himself lighter. Without even realizing it he blinked, the moment he opened his eyes once again he wasn't in the cell anymore, he was in a long hallway of some sort. Upon further inspection he realized he was in some sort of throne room.

"Welcome, welcome." He heard someone speak, he felt the wall he was still strangely attached to turn around until he came face to face with the robbed mage that had attacked him on the resort. The man was smirking as he stood on the throne at the far end of the chamber.

"You." The blond growled out as the man's smirk dropped and turned into a smile. He stood up and walked towards the blond, once he was in front of him he kneeled down making the blond's eyes narrow.

As the mage stood up he looked towards the blond with the same smile. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier master, but they told me you aren't…fully awaken yet." He said as the blond looked towards him dumbfounded.

"The fuck you talking about asshole?" he growled out as the man merely chuckled at his language.

"My apologies, you have been slumbering for so long that most, if not all, of your memories have vanished." The man said with a grin as he crossed his hands over his chest. "You…are Zeref, you are the dark mage, though only a small portion of him to be honest."

Naruto growled at that, he was expecting him to believe something like that? "And what makes you so sure I am the Zeref?" he questioned, trying to pry more answers out of his captor considering he still hadn't regained all his strength to break free.

"They said so, the voice told me as well, you told me." He said in a happy tone, the blond was now confused. He knew that his powers allowed him to communicate with the undead, with demons of the depths, but this was not something he could do.

"I never spoke to you, I don't even know who you are."

The man chuckled as he moved his hands up to his hood. "Oh but you do my lord." He told him revealing his face, the blond's eyes widened in horror. "I've been watching you and helping you for quite some time you know." Siegrain stated.

"You…" Naruto said with a shaky voice. "I knew you smelled wrong, I knew I shouldn't trust you." Siegrain frowned at that and shook his head.

"It's worse than I feared…" he turned with his back to the blond as he started walking away from him. The stone to which he was attached started moving after the mage. "You know, all this time I tried to make you remember, I tried to _'awaken'_ you, yet nothing seemed to work." Siegrain sounded desperate; the man actually believed that Naruto was the reincarnation of Zeref. To the blond it seemed like nonsense.

It made the blond question himself however, was he really the reincarnation of the dark mage? He shook his thoughts away however, he hadn't been born in this world, this power that he had was Kyuubi's doing, he wasn't "born" with it.

"I sent you to battle the _'Beast'_ but those Fairy Tail bastards had gotten there before you did." The man spat out making the blond growl. "I sent you to the plagued island in hope that seeing your creation, the dagger, would awaken you…" he shook his head as he chuckled. "I even sent you to the war, hoping that the bloodshed and your creations would awaken you!" he shouted as he turned towards the blond while walking backwards. "None of it worked!" he shouted furiously turning back once again and placing his hand on his forehead. "I apologize for my outburst." He said once more, calmer this time. "Things…will change now however." He told the blond with a small smile.

"In what way? What is this tower?" he questioned trying to buy more time, he looked towards his shackles and tried to budge free once again, as slow as possible so as not to alert his captor.

"This tower…it's meant to revive you my lord. Through a powerful sacrifice I will transfer that power to you and it will revive you, it will awaken you!" he shouted in glee as he threw his hands in the air, he was mad, the blond had no doubt about it anymore.

With a growl the blond attracted the man's attention. "You think…that a sacrifice is going to resurrect the most powerful dark mage in history?" he asked incredulously "Whoever told you that shit…" Naruto started laughing towards him "…made you look like a complete moron!"

Siegrain however was unfazed by that, he only sighed and shook his head. "They already told me you'd try to stop me…you aren't in your right mind my lord. But…no worries, once the ceremony is complete you will remember everything." He told the blond with a smirk as he sat down on his throne, the wall to which the blond was attached move to the side of the throne, facing the doorway. He was expecting someone, the blond had seen enough in his time to know that the madman was expecting someone to appear through the doors.

Naruto looked towards him and saw he was only concentrated on the door, he looked towards his shackles and continued to work on them. He needed to free himself before he started that ceremony, before he would do something.

Several minutes later the blond felt the shackles begin to loosen, he also heard Siegrain move. The man chuckled as he walked towards a table in the middle of the room. "Goodbye Siegrain…" he whispered making the blond raise an eyebrow. The man stood in the middle of the room and moved a piece on the table, he hummed a tune as he kicked down several pieces.

"Dear me…it seems like the game is over already." He chimed to himself the blond thought.

"Is it really so entertaining playing with peoples lives?" Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Erza appearing the doorway, he looked towards her yet it seemed like she couldn't see him. The mage had placed some sort of invisible barrier.

"Erza!" he called out, the man only laughed and the girl didn't react at all. Naruto growled; Siegrain was planning something. He felt his power building up in him again, a raging torrent demanding retribution for what had happened on the resort, he started sweating as he grit his teeth in pain, his powers were going haywire again. Why? Why now of all times?

He heard an explosion and his attention was drawn back towards the two occupants in the room, they had started fighting. He started pulling on the chains once more, ignoring the electric shock flowing through his body, he pulled with all his might. He couldn't let Siegrain harm anyone anymore.

As he was busy fighting with the chains he felt a power surge from the sky, his eyes widened as he looked up at the ceiling. Something was happening. His attention was then drawn towards the two occupants, he heard Siegrain's story, he saw Erza drop her guard and embrace him.

"You fool!" the blond shouted pulling on the chains once more, if there was one thing he had learned from all his past is that people don't change in the last minute. Then he felt the immense pressure come down on the tower, he felt a massive surge flow through him, he felt pain beyond imagination, and yet, he couldn't faint from it, he stood through it all.

When it was over, he had lost all sense, he couldn't hear anymore, he could barely breathe and see. Looking up he saw Erza fighting Siegrain once again, though this time, the man felt different, he felt more power coming from him. He felt the rock move as he moved forth, from behind a crystal.

"There is one more thing Erza…" Gerard stated with a smirk as the blond appeared in her view. Her eyes widened as she saw the blond. "…your friend here…is the one and only Zeref." He finished with a sinister look on his face. The girl looked towards the blond with shock, she noticed the green aura circling him as he was trying to free himself from the shackles.

Naruto couldn't hear anything that was happening around him, his vision had returned and he froze as he saw the horrified look on the girl's face. It wasn't the look from someone seeing their friend or comrade bruised up, half-dead, it was a look of fear, the same fear he grew up with. He looked towards Siegrain, the sinister look on his face, he did it. He told Erza that lie, the lie that he was Zeref. The blond grit his teeth in fury just as Siegrain forced the red haired mage into the Lacryma crystal.

"Now you belong to me." He whispered as he turned towards the blond. He threw his arms up and shouted "Exalted Zeref! I offer you this woman's body as your sacrifice! I offer you her power to you!"

Naruto shouted in fury once more, he did not notice when Natsu appeared grabbing Erza and knocking her out. He did not notice when he started fighting Siegrain, his power had taken over him, he could hear whispers, he could hear wishes of war, of death, of carnage. He could hear the underworld, screams of pain, of death. "Make it stop!" he shouted ripping the chains and grabbing his head, his power shot out from his body, encompassing him, purple and green mixing together and forming death's face above the blond.

Slowly, the blond stood up. Both Natsu and Siegrain watched in fear as the blond released incredible amounts of magic. The man laughed, slowly, then his laughter turned into an insane one. "Zeref! He has awakened!" he shouted making Natsu look towards him questionably. He turned his gaze back to the blond who looked up, green smoke moved out of his right eye, purple from his left. The blond raised one of his hands, and the pink haired boy took a step back in shock. Naruto's hand had no flesh on it, a skeletal hand pointed towards Siegrain.

"_**Kill…"**_ his voice echoed through the chamber making Siegrain stop laughing. _**"Maim…"**_ the same voice echoed once more as skeletal hands shot from the ground, pulling out the bodies in mere seconds. _**"Eradicate…"**_ it said once more as two red portals appeared to his sides, two demons taller than the blond by a head appeared out of the portals holding two claymores. _**"Kill…"**_ the voice shouted as the undead and demons charged forward towards Siegrain.

"My lord!" the man shouted as demon jumped towards him ready to strike, his eyes narrowed as he jumped to the side. As the demon crashed with the ground he delivered a powerful kick in its ribs sending it flying towards the ceiling. The demon collided with the ceiling and fell back down on the ground. It shook its head as it slowly stood back up and roared in anger.

"_**Kill…"**_ the voice echoed once more as the blond started walking forward, he extended his hands to the side and two fireballs – one purple and the other green – appeared in his palms. _**"Death awaits you…"**_ the voice called out as the blond threw the fireballs towards Siegrain. The man avoided the first one, he jumped towards a demon, he kneed it in the chest and then punched it in the face. He grabbed it and threw it towards the second fireball; the fireball consumed the demon, erasing it from existence.

"Naruto!" the dragon slayer called out, the blond turned his head towards him, he didn't say anything. Once more he extended his skeletal hand, this time towards his fellow mage.

"_**Kill…"**_ the voice whispered as more skeletons appeared in front of the blond, charging towards the dragon slayer. Natsu's eyes narrowed as he jumped back avoiding a sword.

"What are you doing you retard?" he shouted as he threw a fireball towards a group of skeletons. The blond however didn't answer his question, instead he turned towards Gerard and threw his arm towards his direction. Green skulls appeared from behind him, they moved with great speed towards the mage who narrowed his eyes and activated his _Meteor Spell_.

He vanished from his spot and appeared several feet away, the skulls turned away from their initial direction and continued moving towards the target they were ordered. Gerard's eyes widened at that, he should not have expected anything less from the blond. He fired his light beams towards the blond's attack, the two collided creating small explosions and canceling each other out.

Gerard turned towards the pink haired mage and noticed he was busy fighting off and endless horde of skeletons. He looked towards the red haired girl who was stirring up.

Erza shook her head as she looked up, she heard Natsu cursing like there was no tomorrow and looked towards the source of the noise. Her eyes widened as she saw her friend fighting an endless horde of skeletons, each time one fell another one rose from the ground to take its place. She then felt an immense power from her left, she looked towards the source and she stood there, in shock and fear at what she was seeing. "Naruto?" she asked incredulously.

The blond turned towards her, he moved his hand towards the downed girl. A green sphere appeared in his palm. Just as he was about to shoot it he turned towards Gerard and fired the projectile, the man moved away before the sphere hit. Instead of him the sphere hit a pylon, as it hit the sphere grew bigger and began ripping the pylon into pieces in a slow process, it was like it was eating it away.

"What's happening?" Erza called out as she got back on her feet.

The mage growled with distain. "You ruined the awakening, he's attacking everyone he sees." Her eyes widened as she looked towards the blond, he was focusing on Gerard. _**"Die…"**_ the voice echoed once more sending a shiver down her spine, it wasn't the knight's voice, it felt like Death itself was talking through him.

The blond raised his hands up above his head and looked towards the ceiling, a massive sphere formed in his hands making Gerard's eyes widen. He cursed as he prepared to call for his own attack, a massive black sphere forming above his head as well. The two launched their attacks at the same time, as they collided in the middle of the room electricity started moving out of two spheres, moments later both of them exploded sending a shockwave in the entire room and ripping the floor, making a massive hole in it. Natsu sighed as the skeletons were blown away by the force of the explosion, he had grabbed the nearest pylon to keep himself from being blown away.

"Naruto! You need to stop this!" Erza called out, she could see the blond bleeding through his armor, the massive output of power was most likely destroying his body, if he still had one considering the skeletal hands. The blond however turned towards her and slowly made his way in her direction.

Gerard laughed at that, the girl had taken the blond's attention from him without even realizing it. "Hey you!" Natsu shouted as he appeared in front of the blond delivering a powerful flaming punch. "Wake up jackass!" he shouted as his first collided with the blond's head which turned to the opposite direction. The blond slowly turned his head back towards Natsu, unfazed by the attack it seems. He grabbed the boy by the throat and proceeded to choke him.

The dragon slayer growled as he used all his strength to punch the blond once more in the face. Yet once again the blond seemed unfazed by the attack, he threw the mage away who landed behind Erza. He moved his hands to the side again as two fireballs appeared in his palms, both purple. Then he moved his palms closer creating a larger one which he threw towards Natsu and Erza, a skeletal face appeared on the fireball as it raced towards the two.

"Erza, move out of the way!" Natsu shouted yet the girl stood up on her feet ready to take the attack head on.

"Don't worry…" she said with a smile "…I'll protect you." At the last second however someone else jumped in front of her taking the attack head on. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw who it was. "Shimon!" she called in despair as the man merely gave her a weak smile. She brought her hands up to her mouth, covering it as she saw her friends face eroding away, she could see his skeleton appearing.

"Stop it!" she shouted towards the blond who threw a green leash at his pray, sucking the life force out of his target. "I beg you! Stop!" she shouted yet the blond didn't react, he sucked the life out of prey until all that was left were his clothes and bones. Erza dropped on her knees as she saw the remains of her friend.

Natsu watched in shock at what happened, the malicious laughter of Siegrain drew his attention towards him. "Such power! Such foolishness!" he shouted maniacally. "The situation hasn't changed one bit! No one is leaving this tower alive!" he shouted only to have Natsu appear in front of him, delivering a punch to his face.

"Shut yer trap!" he howled as he kicked the mage in the ribs sending him away. "As for you!" he growled turning towards the blond and grabbing a piece of the Aetherion, eating it in one go. "I'll beat some sense into you bastard!" he shouted as a massive spike of power blasted from him. He fell on his knees and took another bite from the Aetherion, he shouted to the heavens as the form of a dragon appeared around him.

With great speed the boy charged towards the blond and delivered a punch in his face, the blond staggered back. As he looked back up a kick connected with his head sending him flying in a rotating manner towards the crystals, shattering a good portion of it. Slowly, the blond stood back up, just in time as Natsu appeared in front of him for the third time ready to punch him. This time the blond caught the punch with his hand, the force pushing him back several feet.

Natsu grit his teeth as he added more pressure to his fist. "You made her cry! You fucking bastard!" he shouted as he grabbed his arm and threw him in the middle of the room. "I made a promise!" he cried out rushing towards him and delivering a flaming punch making the blond fly into one of the pylons, shattering it.

"And you!" he growled out towards Gerard who was trembling seeing how Natsu defeated his 'lord' so easily. "Who do you think you are taking people's freedom away?" he shouted as he disappeared from his spot only to appear in front of him, with a punch in his stomach. Gerard gasped for air as the pressure from the punch seemed to shatter his insides. With one last move the dragon slayer punched him as hard as he could; the body of Gerard flew into the Aetherion creating an explosion. The boy fell down on the ground, on his knees as Erza rushed towards him and grabbed him before he hit the ground.

She looked around and noticed the entire place coming down, she looked towards the location Naruto fell yet she couldn't see his body. Gulping she took Natsu and flung him over her shoulder, she looked towards the skeletal remains of her friend and let a tear drop as she started running away, jumping from one platform to the other. Yet no matter how much she moved it seemed like the entire building would consume them both in the end.

She looked desperately around for a way out and noticed the crystal in which Gerard wanted to push her to 'revive' Zeref. Erza slowly placed the boy down on the ground and moved forward, towards the liquidized crystal mirror. She moved her hand inside the mirror as another grabbed her, she looked towards Natsu with shock.

"I need to do this." She said as she "it's the only way to save you all…" she told the boy as she pushed herself away and inside the liquidized crystal, vanishing from his eyes.

"Erza!" the dragon slayer shouted banging on the crystal. A huff reached his ears as he turned around, his eyes narrowed as he saw the blond behind him, holding a massive platform over his head, his power raging around him like a hurricane.

The blond looked towards him, and for the first time he saw his eyes, he had regained his sanity. "They told me…" he huffed, the pressure from the platform taking its tow. "…you can still save her…" he rasped out. "…go!" he shouted as the boy nodded and jumped inside the mirror after her comrade.

Naruto laughed as he saw the boy vanish, at least one person would be saved he thought as another platform crashed down on top of the one he was holding, both of them crashing down on him taking more and more after them like pieces of domino.

**xXx**

She saw her death, she saw her funeral and the honors received by the council. She was one of the Ten Holy Wizards, in death. Yet, she saw her friend, Natsu, declaring she was not dead, she saw him fight the rest of the guild, trying to tell them she was not dead. She cried, she didn't want to see them fight, she didn't want to see them suffer.

As she slowly vanished away, she saw something else. She saw the blond standing on a fiery platform; she saw nine massive figures and a massive number of demons surrounding him. She heard one of them speak. _**"You belong to us; your soul belongs to us." **_She saw the blond charge forward, sword in hand as the massive figures laughed, as they taunted him and threw their minions to fight him.

Her eyes snapped open and she could see the clear sky above her, she felt someone holding her and looked to her side. She saw Natsu there, she saw people calling out for her and saw her friends and comrades rushing towards her. She looked back towards Natsu dumbfounded. "How?" she whispered.

The boy looked towards her and explained to her, that they were the same, that they were all a family and no one should be left alone, that no one should sacrifice themselves for others as long as hope was there for everyone. She smiled as tears dropped from her eyes, she cried of happiness as everyone rushed towards her.

They celebrated, Natsu, relieved that it was all over allowed himself to succumb to the darkness, falling asleep. Gray laughed as he picked him up and placed him in the boat with which they came.

"Wait…" Erza suddenly called as she turned towards the fallen tower. "…where is…Naruto?" she asked, her question barely below a whisper. Despite the fact that he had killed her friend and what she had learned of him, she just couldn't leave him like that.

"I don't know, I didn't see him come out of the tower." Gray muttered as he moved next to her. Erza stood up and took a step towards the tower. She stopped, she hesitated. She placed her hand over her chest, over her heart. Why was she hesitating? Erza trembled and she didn't know why, her comrade was there and yet she felt fear?

She saw Gray moving forward, heading towards the tower to look for the blond, she wanted to move as well, but she couldn't. "Look!" she heard Lucy shout as she turned towards the direction the girl was pointing towards. She saw the blond walking out from the water, tripping from time to time.

"Naruto! You're alright!" Gray shouted in happiness "How did you end up in the water?" he asked as he grabbed the blond and helped him walk towards the boat.

"Managed to use a platform to my advantage and throw myself out of the tower." He replied coughing. "I got lucky."

"Really lucky, if those platforms would have crashed on you I doubt you'd still be alive." Gray remarked. As they both passed by Erza the girl looked at the blond, she couldn't feel any more trances of the malicious power she felt in the tower, she couldn't see his power raging around him anymore. He looked like the normal Naruto that had joined them a month ago.

"Erza, lets go." She heard Juvia shout from the boat, she noticed that everyone was already on the boat, even her old friends. She nodded, not realizing that she had been spacing out and got on the boat, standing at the opposite end of the blond.

Naruto looked towards her, their eyes meeting, she looked away moments later. The trip back to the mainland was spent in awkward silence between the two; in fact, none of them spoke the entire journey. Half way on their trip Natsu woke up, upon laying eyes on the blond he cheered that he was back to his old self, yet he made no contact as the blond would have expected him to do.

As they reached the shore Natsu was the first to jump off the boat and cheer that they were no longer in a moving object. The blond was the last to get off the boat, he waited until Erza's old friends were out of hearing distance and walked up to her. He grabbed her arm making the girl stiffen slightly and turn her head towards him.

"Can we talk?" he asked slowly, the girl looked towards her friends and comrades and then towards the blond. She nodded as she freed her arm and turned towards the blond.

"What would you like to talk about?" she asked, no emotion on her face.

The blond looked straight in her eyes as he replied. "About what happened in the tower." He told her.

Erza merely raised an eyebrow as she turned around to leave. "There is nothing to talk about Naruto."

The blond however grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Yes there is Erza, don't hide it." He said, his tone raising a notch. Erza turned her head towards him and raised an eyebrow once more. "You fear me."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him and his proclamation. "What's gotten in your head Naruto?" she asked; her voice barely above a whisper. "You are my comrade, why would I fear you?"

Naruto however gritted his teeth at the answer he received. "Don't play dumb with me Erza." He growled out shocking her as her eyes widened. "I saw the look on your face, I saw the fear in your eyes, do you think I'm a stranger to fear?" he questioned.

Erza gave no reply however, she steeled herself and glared towards the blond. "If that's the case…then answer me this." She started as the blond never broke eye contact with her. "What's your connection with Zeref?" she asked making the blond's eyes narrow dangerously.

"None…" he nearly spat out in anger. "…I am not connected in any shape or form with him, or has your dear old friend managed to convince you?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

Erza growled towards him as well as she moved closed. "Old friend?" she asked with malice. "I asked you a question, it does not matter what that man told me." She spat out.

"But it does, doesn't it?" the blond countered as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You wouldn't have asked if you didn't doubt it."

There was a pause after that in which Erza sighed. "Maybe; but after seeing you lose it…" she shook her head as she laughed slightly. "…and then, you never told us of your power."

"It was hard enough to tell Lisanna and Elfman, hard enough to see the look of fear in their eyes…having the entire guild know?" he asked incredulously as the girl glared towards him.

"So you told someone but you never bothered to tell others? How are we a family if we don't know what the other suffers from?" she yelled at his drawing Natsu's attention.

"You are the one to talk?" he questioned "Have you told them of your past? Have you told them who that bastard was?" he questioned further as Erza grabbed him by the collar.

"That is different Naruto, it did not involve Zeref's dark magic." She growled out.

The blond merely narrowed his eyes. "Is it now? What if he had succeed even if I wasn't there? What then?" he questioned.

"It's different Naruto! This is unrelated to what I asked you!" she snapped at him, yet the blond didn't seem to give in.

"Different?" he asked pushing himself away. "What's so different?" he asked slowly. "Is it because he doesn't carry Zeref's power? Is it because he wasn't cursed as I was?" he questioned as he looked towards the ocean. "Or is it because he wasn't the one that killed your friend?" he questioned further as he turned to face her.

The look of anger and fear in her eyes made the blond realize that he had hit a nerve at that point. Erza trembled as she thought back of the event. "Why?" she questioned looking back up at the blond "Why didn't you stop then?"

Naruto's eyes softened at that. "I couldn't…I was _'awake'_ during the whole thing, yet I had no control over my entire body. It felt like my power had a mind of its own, it felt like something was controlling me from somewhere else." He told her, the girl merely looked away from him. "I didn't…"

"So you are saying..." she interrupted the blond, her voice but a whisper. "…that something took control over you…that this magic can take control over you at any given point?" she questioned with narrowed eyes, she just couldn't let someone close to her friends and family if they would lose control of themselves just like that.

"No, it's not like that, I work to try and control it, I work to not let it loose anymore." She looked up at him, her eyes trembling as the blond closed his mouth.

"It happened before…" she whispered, reading in between the blond's words. Naruto stood quiet however, his posture gave no answer whatsoever. "It happened in the past did it not?" she questioned "Why didn't you let us know? We could have thought of something, we could have found a solution to stop you! He…" he shouted at him, by now the rest of the team was standing in the background, speechless as to what they were hearing.

"He wouldn't have died?" the blond finished for her making the girl look away as she closed her eyes in anger. "Is it really different Erza?" he asked her.

"Yes." She growled out looking towards the blond. "If we had known, none of it would have happened!" she shouted.

"So it's better to live a second time with people looking at my back in fear right?" he shouted back towards her. "You think I enjoyed seeing what I did? You think I enjoyed killing a guild member's friend?" he asked once more as he started laughing.

The blond shook his head and turned his back at her, looking towards the ocean once more. "You know…I told them that I was raised in slavery…" he started drawing her attention "…while part of it is true…what I didn't tell them is that I was raised to be a weapon." He spat out turning towards her, Erza took a step back from the look the blond was giving through his helmet. "I was forced to kill at a young age, they told me _'kill or starve to death'_. I would have starved to death if the one thing that always kept me alive would just let me die." He growled out.

Erza moved towards the blond, she raised her hand shakily towards him. "Naruto…I…" she started yet the blond only shook his head as he glared towards her.

"You know what you and father both have in common?" he suddenly questioned making her stop. "The fear in your eyes…when father found out I could see the fear in his eyes, he feared me despite the fact that I had been his son for so many years. If my own father fears me like that, how could I even tell strangers of my secret?" he questioned "You! You are the proof of that, if you all knew you would have feared me, you would have turned your backs at me! Everything that I've been running away from for all these years you would have given it to me ten fold!"

A dead silence fell on them both as the blond rubbed his head. "I had a roof over my head, food on my table, a mother and a father…a fiancée…and I lost them all." He growled looking at his hands. "I lost them all because of this damn curse!" he shouted towards Erza who took a step back in fright. "She died because of me, my father almost died because of me."

Again he shook his head as he tried to calm himself. "Even now that fear is still present in your eyes, I can see it in Natsu as well even though he hides it so much better." He whispered loud enough only for Erza to hear. "The one thing that is different between you and father…is that in his eyes I saw regret as well." Naruto laughed as he said that, his laughter bordering insane. "Regret! Regret for taking me in? I'll never know that's for sure…" he growled out as he moved towards Erza and then walked passed her, not touching her or making eye contact.

As he passed by her she heard him whisper. "Was it even worth coming here to see all the things I ran from?" he questioned.

"Wait!" Erza shouted towards his retreating form. "Where are you going?"

The blond never turned back as he replied. "Home."

With that last word he left them there, he vanished in the resort. Natsu turned towards Erza who stood rooted in place. "Erza?" he questioned drawing her attention. She shook her head towards him and walked away, he could see the pain on her face, the regret for ever agreeing to start the conversation in the first place.

**xXx**

Naruto looked at the terrain as it moved in great speed, his mind was completely empty. The blond had taken the first train he found, it didn't matter to him where it went, his feet were now in control, his eyes relayed no information to the brain. He was on autopilot.

The fight came back to him as he watched the landscape, the voices he heard. And then the picture of Erza crying over her dead friend's body. As much as he wanted to get rid of that image he just couldn't. The argument he had with Erza, was he right? Or was he wrong? He didn't know, but the fear in her eyes, he just couldn't stand watching it, he had seen those eyes all his childhood. In his allies, in his enemies.

The blond looked down at his hand, he didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know why he was even trying. Maybe he was indeed afraid of death, considering the number of lives he had taken the only road for him would be Hell itself. Maybe he was afraid of eternal suffering.

As the train came to a halt he sat up and got off the train. He looked up at the signpost, he was back in Tatcha. The blond looked back at the train and then towards the exit, he decided to walk out of the train yard. Despite the fact that he had been excommunicated from the castle and from the city as well, he felt no fear walking these streets anymore.

Yet, with each step he took he felt something different, there were no guards patrolling the streets, no knights at the taverns. The people were all dressed in black, they were all mourning. Without even realizing it he looked up and he froze, the castle was gone, only piece of it still stood, smoldering, smoke rising in the air from the ruins. How did he not see that?

He walked down the road he used to walk when returning to the castle, the roads were empty, the air was filled with the stench of death and fire however. Did a battle take place here? Did his powers leave something behind? He tried not to think about it.

As the castle's remains came into view he noticed the massive gate was missing its other half. He placed his hand on the large metal door; slowly he moved away from it and stepped inside what used to be the courtyard. Instead, what stood before him now was a massive cemetery, graves scattered all over the place.

Few people were present, placing flowers on the graves, mourning. He walked through the graves, half of the names he read he used to know them, he used to work with. He saw at the far end a grave that looked more _regal_ than the rest, he saw the castle's standard there. The blond walked towards it and stopped in front of it, the name made his heart stop beating for a second. _'Knight Commander Ronda'_.

He wanted to let his body fall on the ground, he wanted to mourn, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Naruto didn't understand why, but he just stood there, looking at the name, not knowing what to actually do.

"A visitor?" he heard someone ask. He spared a glance towards the sound of the voice and noticed a knight standing beside him, the banner of Kimos proudly presented on his shoulder pad. Yet, he saw the man's eyes, his face was mostly covered in bandages and his eyes were hollow. He was blind. "Came to visit the commander?" he asked as he placed his hands up in front of him and began praying.

The blond looked down towards the grave once more. "What happened here?" he questioned, the knight didn't recognize his voice it seemed, that or they had never worked before as he made no comment regarding him.

He sighed as he answered the blond's question. "A dragon happened."

The blond looked towards him with wide eyes, dragon's rarely meddled with humans and for the past few years they had vanished from the surface of the earth. "But that's impossible." He whispered in surprise.

The man chuckled dryly. "Just because they have been gone for almost a decade doesn't mean they are gone for good." He said as silence fell on both of them.

"What kind of dragon attacked?" he questioned. Naruto felt the man stiffen yet his posture never changed one bit.

"I still see it in my nightmares…" he said, his voice low and scared. "…it came from the East, from the dark mountains. A black dragon, bigger than anything I could ever imagine…" he whispered as he looked towards the blond, it unlevered him, the look the man was giving him, the hollow eyes staring at him. "…some say it was just a dragon…but I believe it was the Black Dragon itself." He whispered as he looked back at the grave.

Naruto said nothing, he looked for a few moments at the man and then back down at the grave. "We had no time to react…" he heard the man start again. "…it appeared above the keep, spewing flames and devouring all those that stood in its way. The commander…he tried to fight it, he rallied us, we fought as much as we could…but we failed. I survived by sheer luck…or maybe through the God's sick joke. The dragon…it flew back from where it came from what people told me." He rasped as he shook his head.

"What happened to the villages?" the blond questioned. "To the commander's wife?"

The man looked towards him. "You know his wife?" he questioned as the blond answered immediately.

"She is a friend." He stated as the man nodded and sighed.

"The villages were abandoned, without guardsmen to protect them bandits started overrunning them, the town's garrison is too small to cover them all." He told the blond, that much he had expected for an answer. "The council…they didn't even send the rune knights, even now we have no answer from them." The man stated as he moved his hands away from praying. "As for his wife, last I heard she left town…where to…that I do not know." He replied sadly.

Naruto nodded and thanked the man. Several minutes later the man left, leaving the blond alone to his thoughts. He kneeled down in front of his father's grave. "I'm sorry I returned, I must be disappointing you." He started "I don't even have your sword…nor mine…" he chuckled slightly at that. "…I guess I wasn't fit for knighthood…or being a mage…I'm sorry for what I did, though it matters little now." He told himself as he stood up. He looked towards the east, towards the location the dragon flew. He clenched his fists, one thing was for certain, he would have to pay a dept to someone.

**xXx**

Mirajane walked though the guild, she couldn't sit still, she was worried about her friends, about Naruto. She looked at the doors praying that they would open and he'd step in, or that Natsu would step in shouting _'mission accomplished'_. She moved around, trying to keep her mind off any bad thoughts, she kept looking at the door but nothing happened.

She sighed, it was how she spent her days yesterday and a good portion of today, she didn't know what to do. Mirajane looked around, she was alone, everyone was running errands, Makarov had ran to the council to get their help once he heard of the Tower, he forbid anyone to go there. She didn't know why, but the look on his face, she didn't need an explanation after seeing that look.

Suddenly the doors opened and Mirajane turned around with a smile on her face. Her smile however dropped as she saw team Natsu walking in with dejected looks on their faces while looking around for something, or someone. She walked towards them and they looked up at her. Erza moved forward.

"Erza, you're alright!" she cheered grabbing her in a hug. She pulled away and looked behind her, her smile dropped. "Did…you find Naruto?" she asked.

"Yes…but, didn't he return?" Natsu asked curiously. The girl looked at him strangely.

"I've been here all day, he hasn't appeared." She said as Erza moved back a bit and looked around.

"Are you sure?" she asked as Mirajane glared towards her.

"Of course I'm sure, do you think I'm blind? I've been so worried that I couldn't even go home and sleep, I spent the night here." She argued as Erza bit her lip. "Erza? Did something happen?" she questioned.

"We argued, he said he's going home…but…" Mirajane looked at her with narrowed eyes, trying to understand what she said. She then gasped as she took a step back.

"Home?" she questioned as all of them nodded, including Happy. Mirajane moved back and sat down on a chair. "What happened?" she questioned looking towards Erza.

The red haired then proceeded to tell her in detail everything, from the fight in the tower to the argument they had on the resort's beach. With each word she said Mirajane felt her heart sink more, she now knew the what _'home'_ the blond had been referring to. The girl looked away from her friend as she bit her lip.

Suddenly she stood up and walked passed Erza who called out for her. "I'm going after him." She said with determination.

"But we don't even know where he is." Lucy stated not understanding what Mirajane was saying.

"I do…" she whispered towards the blond girl. "…his _'home'_ is most likely his hometown, the castle." She told them "I need to find him and stop him."

"We should wait for the master, maybe you are wrong and maybe Naruto is still on his way back, he did seem upset. He might need time for himself, to think." Gray tried to reason, Mirajane only smiled as she turned to look at him.

"Master is at the council right now…everyone else is running errands. And you are wrong, Naruto is heading back to the castle and if he gets there they will arrest him and most likely lock him up or hand him to the council." She told them as Erza looked down, grabbing her arm.

"Excommunication." She stated making the team look at her. "If the one excommunicated returns he is locked away, if said someone did something horrible to have him sent away in the first place, they might even hand him over to the council." She said as she looked towards the white haired mage. "And if the council knows of his magic…"

"…they will kill him." Mirajane finished for Erza with a small glare. The red head looked down and then back towards her friend with determination in her eyes.

"Then I'll come with you, his departure is part of a misunderstanding with me, I need to set this right." She told her as she walked forward. Mirajane however stopped her and shook her head.

"You need to think of this and I need someone to be in charge here until master returns. He left me, but now that I am leaving you will have to be the one in charge. Please Erza." She begged her.

The red head looked at her friend and then down at the ground. She looked back up and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Bring him back Mira…tell him I'm sorry."

The girl smiled and nodded as she turned around, she walked towards the entrance where a sword in a scabbard lay. She grabbed it and walked out the guild, heading for the blond's hometown and hoping that she would reach it before she does.

* * *

**Note:** First and foremost, before most of you misinterpret what the argument was about please read my explanation – my view of it all. I've been thinking of it for 3 months, yes 3 months. This was meant to be a turning point in opening one of my own arcs to get Mira and Naruto close and also reveal a few things. The argument had to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do…it did take me 3 months to think of something plausible. And if you think about it, its like this:

Erza – her character is that of a person that would do anything to defend his or her friends and family, even kill herself if it meant their safety.

Naruto – the one I built in this story, he seeks acceptance, he wants to be of use and at the same time tries to keep his curse a secret.

When these two clash, ideals clash. Naruto is the new guy, she doesn't know him as much as she knows the rest in the guild, its only obvious for her to be suspicious, to ask questions, to pressure. Naruto on the other hand knows how to read a person, for him seeing someone is afraid of him, someone he wanted to befriend, to help, is enough answer to tell him – in his mind – that he doesn't belong there. Konoha hated him and used him as a weapon, his father feared his magic – not him – and now two of the guild members he wanted to work with fear his magic as well. He can't live with fear, this is the kind of disadvantage Naruto has and in folklore from my country a sort of test he needs to pass to enter adulthood. Maybe I like folklore too much, maybe I don't, but some pivotal points in my stories have influence from this type of folklore.

Thank you for understanding and I do hope, that despite it all, you enjoyed the chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 11**

Mirajane stepped out of the train at Tatcha's station; her heart was beating faster than ever. She jumped out of the train holding the blond's sword in her arms as she ran out of the station. She looked up towards the castle, or where it was supposed to be and stood looking at the rising smoke in utter shock.

The girl looked around and approached one of the vendors. "Excuse me." She started drawing the man's attention. "What happened to the castle?" she questioned. Mirajane noticed the man's eyes darken as he looked away and shook his head; he didn't want to talk about it. She frowned as she looked around for a guardsman to ask, yet there were none in sight.

She began questioning people on the street, none of them wanted to talk about it however. One of them directed her to the tavern, telling her that she might find the answers there, or even better, to go and look at the castles remains for a better answer. However, the girl didn't want to go all the way up at the castle, she doubted that she'd find the blond there and even if he was there someone was bound to tell her that in the end.

As she entered the tavern Mirajane immediately noticed the gloomy mood, everyone was sitting at tables or at the bar and drinking like there was no tomorrow in complete silence, completely opposed to what she had seen and known about men drinking in taverns. Slowly, she walked over to the bar and sat down on the stool, the bartender, an elderly lady came up to her.

"What can I get you?" she asked with a small smile that the girl immediately realized that it was forced out.

"I was hoping you had some information on a friend of mine." She told the woman who looked at her with a smile, this time it didn't seem forced out.

"If he passed through town I might have seen him, could you describe him?" she questioned as Mirajane nodded and proceeded to describe the blond. The woman frowned as she shook her head and told her she hadn't seen anyone like she had described pass through town.

Mirajane decided to ask what happened to the castle instead but the woman only shook her and walked away making the white haired mage frown. Why was everyone avoiding the topic?

She frowned as she tried to get the woman's attention once more. "You looking for the lieutenant?" she heard someone speak, her eyes brightened up as she turned to the source of the sound only to frown as she noticed the man was blind.

"I've met him…a few hours ago…" he stated as he looked towards the girl, Mirajane however didn't really believe him.

"And you are sure that it was him?" she questioned suspiciously as the man grinned.

"Missy, I might be blind, but I can still hear and I recognize his voice anywhere." He told her as he showed her his emblem. "After all, I served with him." Mirajane's eyes widened as she realized who the man was.

"I apologize, I didn't notice…" the man raised his hand as he chuckled, silencing her.

"Don't worry…" he told her with a smile "…as for the boy, he was here, saw what happened to the castle and headed up north into the mountains." He said as he drank from his cup.

"But what exactly happened to the castle?" she asked watching him lower the cup. The man sighed as he told her what he told the blond, Mirajane was shocked to learn that the Black Dragon had attacked the castle and reduced it to dust, she was mortified when she learned that the blond was now going after the dragon.

The man told Mirajane as she prepared to leave to ask on her way out of Tatcha any merchants if they had seen him since they were the ones most likely to notice him. She thanked the man and left the tavern, heading north after the blond and questioning all merchants she came across. They all pointed towards the north; apparently he was on foot as well despite the fact that to reach the mountains he would need some sort of transportation.

**xXx**

Mirajane had been on the road for three days, going from town to town, changing direction constantly. The blond seemed to avoid the larger towns, she couldn't understand why exactly but she didn't ponder on that too much. The blond had even passed by the village where Blue Pegasus was situated, she thought about visiting the guild and asking if they had seen the blond on their missions but opted to not do so, the guild master would have delayed her from her mission with his talks for several hours, or days.

She looked at the map in her hands; a red line was drawn from Tatcha to her current location with slight deviations from time to time. If she was right, in the next town she should meet the blond, she hadn't slept for a day and a half opting to catch up with the blond one way or the other and stopping him from going after the dragon.

As the town came in her view she smiled slightly and shook her head, she was going to have to talk with the blond about this for a few hours. Mirajane moved faster towards the town, she started running hopping to catch the blond somewhere inside.

Once she entered the town she began questioning the townsfolk about the blond, a few of them told her to try the tavern as they saw someone matching her description going there a few hours ago. She nearly jumped in join when she heard that the blond had been here just a few hours ago, with a little luck he might still be in the tavern.

Mirajane ran towards the tavern and went inside. She looked around for the blond, people were looking at her in wonder, it wasn't everyday that you see a woman run into a tavern and looking frantically around for someone. The girl frowned as she couldn't see the blond anywhere in the crowd; she decided to ask around in hopes that someone might have seen him.

One of the patrons hearing her description of the blond called her over. The girl sat down at the table with the patron. "So you have seen him?" she questioned.

The man nodded as he took his cigar out of his mouth. "He came in here about three hours ago, asking which train would take him closer to the north, in the mountains."

Mirajane cursed slightly, if this was three hours ago the blond might have already left the town in a train. "Was there such a train?" she questioned once more as the man nodded.

"Left about an hour ago towards Seven, town of Yukisha." He told her as Mirajane frowned.

"Any other train leaving for the same destination?" she asked him as the man shrugged.

"You will have to go to the station and see for yourself." He told her as the mage nodded and thanked the man for the help. He merely nodded at her and waved goodbye before the girl walked out of the tavern.

Mirajane sighed, she missed the blond by an hour, now she would have to wait for the next train towards Seven and the blond would have a day or so in advance. And she was right, when she reached the station she learned that the next train would only leave tomorrow and it was the only train going to Seven or anywhere near the country.

The mage sat down on one of the benches dejectedly as she looked at the sky. She debated whether to spend the night in the station or rent a room at a hotel to sleep, she needed to rest after staying awake for more than a day.

She decided to rest for the day and left the station heading back into town, it didn't take long for her to find a place to stay for the night. With a sigh she dropped on the bed, the blond's sword dropping next to her. Mirajane looked at the sword in silence, not thinking of anything. With a shake of the head she grabbed the sword and placed it on the ground next to the bed as she closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

The next morning the girl raced to the station, arriving few minutes before the train's departure. She jumped in the wagon as the train started departing, she sighed in relief, made it just in time. With a smile she walked away from the door found herself a seat. She placed the sword next to her and looked outside the window, wondering what the blond was doing.

**xXx**

Naruto looked around him; he definitely took a wrong turn. The road he was walking on had brigands, they were all around him. Slowly, he walked forward, looking to his right and left. The brigands looked towards him, they did not attack him like he would have expected them to do, this was interesting. As he walked he noticed a strange man behind a group of brigands, the man was old, he was wearing a suit and holding a cane in his hands. He looked towards him as he walked through the horde of brigands, was he their leader?

As he moved the man vanished from his sight as he passed by a brigand who blocked his view, the moment he was in the clear he couldn't see the man anymore. Suddenly, he noticed the brigands move towards him, a step forward, and another. The blond looked in front of him and saw the strange man from before standing in front of a blockade. Interesting tactic the brigands had, but it wouldn't serve them for long. Even in his weakened state, bleeding all over the place, he would still mop the floor with them.

Naruto looked at the man in front of him however, it intrigued him as it seemed like the brigands didn't take notice of him. The man walked towards the blond as Naruto walked towards him. As they got closer to each other Naruto turned his head towards the man, looking in his eyes. The man looked back at him, straight in his eyes. He didn't know what happened, but for a second the blond didn't feel anything, he couldn't feel his heart beat. As he passed by the man he heard a large number of 'thuds' echo around him. Naruto looked around with wide eyes as the brigands had fallen on the ground, dead from the looks of it.

He turned around towards the man, yet the man was no longer there. No matter how long he twisted and turned to spot the man he couldn't see or sense any trace of him. This scared him, it was unnatural. While he was glad that he didn't get to fight the brigands he was scared of who the man might be. Ever since he left Yukisha he had been fighting with either wild animals or bandits at every possible turn.

In front of him, at about a days walk, stood his destination, the icy mountain of legends said to be the home of dragons, or at least one specific dragon. While it was only a legend no one had ever dared to set foot farther away than the base of the mountain, many ventured further up but none returned.

With a sigh he pulled himself together and continued walking, the feeling of dread grew stronger in him with each step he took, each time he got closer towards the mountain, there was something there – maybe it wasn't what he was looking for, but whatever it was, it scared him.

**xXx**

As soon as she left the town, finding the path which the blond took was easy. The lingering magic on the path she walked was Naruto's, she was sure about it. She was worried however, she could sense a lot of death in the forest, she had seen bodies littered all over the road – Bandits, wild animals. She hadn't pictured Naruto as a guy that would kill like this, when they met and dealt with the brigands in the past he had never killed any of them.

She came across a large number of dead brigands and stopped, she couldn't see any visible wounds and from the looks of it they died without even fighting. She wondered if the blond was capable of dealing such crushing blows. That kind of power wouldn't be strange to him after all, considering the kind of magic he possessed.

She tried not to think about it though as she followed the path the blond most likely took. The mountain before her made her shiver slightly, a cold breeze came from it, it felt unnatural.

As the sun set she had reached the last town before the climb would start, at the base of the mountain. The town was small, very small and it seemed to mostly serve as an outpost. There was a large gate that blocked the road leading up the mountain; stone walls surrounded the town and a bit of the mountains base, finally, to enter the town you needed to get past a gate guarded by several armed guards.

"Halt! Who goes there?" the guardsman shouted as he raised his hand towards the girl. She stopped a few feet away from him and bowed.

"I am Mirajane of Fairy Tail, I request entrance in the town to find answers about the whereabouts of a guild member that has gone missing." She stated calmly.

"There are no answers to be found beyond this gate, go back." The guard ordered sternly, it seemed like he did not even take her request into consideration as he had replied in the very next second.

His reply however didn't deter her from her goal. "Sir, I am sure my comrade passed through here as his goal lies up in the mountains." She stated once more, his reply was instant like before.

"If he went up the mountain he is already dead, only death awaits those that climb it. Return." The girl frowned slightly and walked forward until she was face to face with the guard.

She felt the tip of his weapon at her throat yet she didn't break eye contact with him. "I don't care what lies in the mountains, I am going to find my friend, like it or not." She whispered dangerously as the man glared back at her.

They stood in silence for several minutes before the man took his weapon away and looked up towards one of the towers. "Open the gate!" he shouted as the sound of wheels turning resonated around them. The guard looked back at her with a frown. "Go, but you have been warned."

She however smiled and thanked him as she entered the town, the gates closing behind her.

The town was small, really small compared to how big the walls and the gates were. There were a few houses and some farms; she could see an inn and a guardhouse, a blacksmith in the far corner towards the second gate and a stable opposite of it. She looked at the people, they were all soldiers, even the farmers looked like retired soldiers.

It wasn't your ordinary town, that's fore sure, it was placed here for a reason. It was to guard the lands from whatever lied in the mountains. There were other such towns surrounding the mountain, their walls connected at one point making to make sure that nothing entered or left the place. If she were to look to her sides she could see guard towers stretching as far as the eye could see.

Mirajane had no idea what lied in the mountain, she didn't know anyone that did. Everything about the mountain was shrouded in mystery, there were no legends about it, there were no tales about it. If such things ever existed they had been destroyed by the council a long time ago, whatever was here was meant to be kept a secret for a reason.

When she entered the tavern she was greeted by the hostess, a woman in her mid thirties. She smiled and beckoned her to enter. The girl complied as she took a sit at the bar and placed the sword next to her, the hostess looked at the sword in wonder and then at the girl.

"You don't strike me as a swordsman." She said with a smile as Mirajane nodded with a smile of her own.

"Its not mine, it belongs to a friend that I'm trying to find." She told the woman who looked at her strangely.

"And why did you come here then?" she asked curiously. "No one but Rune Knights or designated mages come here."

Mirajane was surprised a bit by that, she wasn't surprised that the Rune Knights came here, they most likely also ventured into the mountain, but designated mages? Did that mean that the council would send certain mages here from time to time? She wondered what kind of work they would do.

"I'm sure he came through here, the path through the forest could have only been cleared by him." She said giggling slightly as the woman frowned. She started thinking if she had met anyone in particular. Usually those that come here would first visit the tavern to rest for a bit before leaving. Her eyes widened then.

"I see…there was a strange person that came through here. He didn't stay long, left about an hour ago." She said as Mirajane's face brightened.

"Strange in what way?" she questioned as the lady closed her eyes to think.

"He wore a strange armor, the helmet even though it should have revealed his face…it was pitch black…" she recalled.

"That's him!" she called out startling the woman and making the people inside the tavern look at her. She blushed as she apologized for shouting.

"Don't worry…" the hostess waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "…if that's him, I don't know what he was thinking leaving now, to wander the mountain at night is insane, no one does that." She told the mage.

Mirajane frowned slightly, Naruto was walked in dangerous lands, he could get hurt or killed in this place. "I need to find him." She said with determination, her hands clenching in a fist.

The hostess however shook her head. "The guards won't open the gates anymore and even if you manage to convince them, you'll die out there the moment you set foot outside this place. It gets colder and colder the higher you climb, its best if you leave in the morning." She said before turning around and continuing her work.

Mirajane stood in her seat thinking, she was this close to the blond and yet he was so far away from her reach. She looked towards the sword, the only thing she had from him, he was walking through that dangerous place without any weapon apart from his magic and she knew that he hated using his magic.

Even though she believed in him and his ability to survive she was worried about him.

**xXx**

Naruto shivered slightly as he walked through the darkness, a large backpack was strapped on his back. He had paid a visit to the blacksmith and bought some supplies, a tent and something to sleep in, some firewood for when he needed to rest and of course some food from the inn. He didn't know for how long he would be in this place, but he was sure he wouldn't leave until he destroyed that dragon, he would at least die trying to do it.

The higher he got the worse the weather became, it started to snow, then the wind started to blow and soon his vision was reduced to almost nothing. He could barely see two feet in front of him. It didn't help that he kept hearing some sort of beast, or beasts, roaring in the distance.

He kept his ears pealed, to make sure that if those things got too close he would have time to react and fight them. He hadn't come this far to get surprised and killed by some random beast in the mountain.

The blond stopped walking as he noticed a figure in front of him, his eyes narrowed as he shook his head and looked in front of him again, the figure had vanished. Maybe the cold was playing tricks on him, similar to how the heat in the desert would play tricks on the human mind, but if the figure was who he thought, maybe it was no trick.

_Naruto stood at the bar in the inn, waiting for the hostess to come so he could request supplies. He took a sip from the beverage he had ordered and pondered on his next move, he could sleep for the night and leave in the morning, but then again, he didn't want people to recognize him, the longer he stayed the more obvious his lie to the guard became. _

"_Something troubling you young one?" he heard someone ask, he turned towards the source of the sound and froze in fright. "Did I startle you?" the man asked as he looked towards the blond, in his hand he had a cup, with what it was filled the blond had no idea._

"_You…" Naruto mumbled, it was the man he had met countless times after leaving Yukisha, he wore the same suit each time he had met him. _

"_It's not polite to stare." This shook the blond out of his stupor as he glared towards the unknown man._

"_Who are you? Why are you following me?" he questioned as the man just sipped from his cup and flipped a page from the book he was reading, he was unfazed by the blond. _

"_So many questions…" he replied in a calm tone, his tone unnerved the blond however "…but to answer then, who I am is not important, and following you? I believe you have it all wrong." He stated looking at the young mage with the corner of his eyes. "You are walking a very dangerous path Naruto, it would be a shame if you met your demise here." He told the blond._

_There was something about the way he said it that scared the blond, it was like the man knew there was something here that would finish him off. Maybe it was the dragon, but if it was that then he was fully prepared to fight it till the end. _

"_If I am to meet death in such a place then so be it, but I will not go down without taking that blasted dragon with me." He growled out as the man lowered his cup in silence and looked directly at the blond with a bored expression on his face. _

"_I was not referring to death young one." For some reason this made the blond's heart beat faster, it frightened him. "There are some things out there that are not meant to be discovered. Are you sure you wish to discover those things?" he inquired raising an eyebrow. _

_Naruto was silent for several moments, thinking of what the man had asked him. "Whatever is out there…I don't care." He said with narrowed eyes. "I came here to kill the dragon and it's what I will do." He finished as he turned away. _

_The man turned his attention back to the book. "Don't say I didn't warn you Uzumaki." Naruto turned towards him yet when he turned the man was no longer there, he looked around frantically but the man was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished without a trace._

He had been thinking since then, he had been thinking what else could be on this mountain and what secrets it might hold. There had to be a reason why the town was actually a fortified garrison, they were either holding back all the monsters that lived in this place or keeping people away from the mountain itself.

Then there was the strange feeling that he had been here before. Ever since he stepped outside the gate he felt like he had been here before, like he had walked this path before. Even now, despite the fact that he could barely see two feet in front of him, he kept walking as if he knew where he was going.

He couldn't explain it; there was no explanation for this.

Suddenly he stopped, he felt like something was following him. He looked back and concentrated, whatever was following him had vanished now. It might have been his imagination, it might have been a creature that lived in this mountain or it might have been the man he kept meeting.

He didn't want to stay and figure out the answer, he continued walking, he moved faster even though it became harder due to the snow. He slowly began to tire, walking through the blizzard and the large amount of snow was no easy task.

However, he kept pressing on, there was no way he would stop here and just wait for morning or for the cold to overcome him.

All night he walked through the blizzard, he had encountered several creatures in his path but none of them attacked him, they all ignored him and kept their distance. He wondered if they were waiting for him to drop dead and feast on his remains, he didn't care about that however, as long as they didn't get in his way he didn't care.

He kept pressing forward until the sun rose on the horizon, the blizzard died down and it stopped snowing. Naruto paused as he looked around, he was several feet up by now, the towns below looked really small, he couldn't even see the guards stationed on the walls or at the gates, he couldn't see them walking through the streets even though he saw light moving from one place to another – clearly the guards carrying torches.

Finally, the blond looked up, this place was bigger than he had expected. He was only a quarter of the way up, or maybe less. He wasn't sure how far up he had gone but he was ready to take a break now.

Pulling the backpack and letting it drop on the ground he took out the small tent he had bought and began to set it up in a small cavern he had found. It took him a few minutes to set the place up, to prepare the tent and start a small fire.

Finally, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Two skeletons rose from the ground in front of him, they were heavily armored and you wouldn't be able to tell they were the undead unless you removed their armor. He ordered them to hide in the cavern and strike only if any hostile targets approach. They complied and moved into the darkness, waiting for anything clumsy enough to approach their area.

Satisfied that he had some defenses up he looked at the fire and began to think.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he looked around, he had fallen asleep while thinking on how he would find the dragon. He felt his guards move in the shadow and looked outside the small cavern he was in. A figure was walking through the snow, approaching him; it must have been alerted by the fire he made.

The blond waited calmly, he prepared a small spell in his hand. After a few minutes he dispelled the spell and sighed, he recognized the figure that was approaching.

Mirajane's heart beat faster and faster with each step she took towards the camp, she had noticed the blond sitting at the fire and it seemed like he had noticed her. It didn't take long for her to reach him. She stopped at the entrance and looked at him past the small campfire he had made.

The blond looked back at her and raised his hand in a casual manner. "Yo!" he called out making the girl's eyebrow twitch, a small – eerie – smile appearing on her face. Without a warning she slammed the sword's hilt on the boy's head making his shout out in pain.

"What was that for?" he called out angrily while rubbing the top of his head.

Mirajane crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed his eyes at him. "I've been following you for the past days, trying to catch up with you and all that you have to say to me when we meet is '_Yo'_?" he asked him.

Naruto shrugged as he looked away. "I didn't ask you to follow me." He said as he looked back at her "And come to think of it, why did you even follow me in the first place?" he questioned.

She was taken aback by the question. A scowl appeared on her face. "Are you trying to annoy me?" she questioned him venomously. "I was worried for you, they said you went back _'home'_ and when I got there I learn you are out hunting the black dragon!" she shouted at him.

Naruto looked at her; she was trembling, either from the cold or from how angry she was with him. A sigh escaped his lips. "Listen, I didn't want to worry you, but I couldn't stay anymore…"

"She's sorry…" Mirajane interrupted the blond who looked up at her.

"What?"

"She said she's sorry." She repeated.

Naruto however only shook his head at her. "She may be sorry but her fear is still there, you know very well that I can't stand that, that I can't live like that."

"I know that." She mumbled while looking away. She then turned to look at him in the eyes and continued "But you have to give her another chance, you have to give everyone another chance. They didn't mean it, you know it!" she pleaded.

Naruto however just looked at the fire in silence. "I'm worried for you Naruto." She told him making him look up at her. "You're my friend; I can't just leave you alone like this."

He sighed. "I know, but I don't want to live with people looking in fear at me anymore."

"People can change; you just need to give them a chance. Look at me; remember how I was before I met you? Or my sister and brother? Weren't they afraid of you when you first told them?" she asked him as the blond bit his lower lip and looked away.

"It's…different…" he mumbled out making her eyes narrow at his reply "…they already knew me, they knew that I would never harm anymore. But what Erza and Natsu saw…"

"I get it." She stopped him drawing his attention once more. "You are too afraid to face the truth, so your answer is to run away. Isn't that right?" she glared towards him as the blond stood there agape.

"What?" he stammered as he shot up and glared towards his friend. "Do you think it's easy to live with such a disgusting power? Do you think people would just give me the red carpet and accept me for who I am?" he questioned her.

Mirajane for her part stood calm, her glare lessened as she shook her head. "No, they wouldn't…not unless you prove them wrong, not unless you show them who you really are." She said as a small smile appeared on her face. "You need to open up towards your family, show them the Naruto I came to know and then they will never fear you for the power you hold."

Naruto looked at her dumbfounded, she made it sound so easy. Maybe it was easy, maybe all he needed to do was open up, get to know everyone, talk with people and let them understand him. He had known Lisanna and Elfman before joining the guild, they knew him as well so the fear of learning his dark secret wasn't that big and easily vanished away.

He sighed as he sat back down in the snow, he couldn't argue with what Mirajane said. Maybe if he had opened up a bit more to the guild…

"I killed her friend." He countered as he remembered how it all started.

Mirajane continued to smile softly even after what the blond had told her. "I know…she told me everything and despite all that, she's still sorry for what she had said and wants you to come back. She wants to know you better and even if she didn't tell me, she wants a second chance."

The blond stood in silence for several minutes. He knew very little about Erza but he understood her, she is the kind of person he would have imagined himself to grow up if his life hadn't turned for the worst back in Konoha. She cared about her friends, about her family and she wanted to protect them.

He wanted to protect those that cared for him, those that accepted him. But his power was unnatural, unholy and hard to control. He was afraid that if it got out of control people would die needlessly like how it happened to his first love, to Erza's friend. His eyes then widened as he looked down at his trembling hands. He _was_ afraid. She was right after all, all this running was him running away from his problems instead of trying to fix them.

He felt like punching himself, he was stupid for what he had done. But even so. "I can't return." He told her shocking the girl. "I have to avenge my father, I said I would." He told her, determination in his eyes.

"I see…" Mirajane mumbled as she threw the sword towards the blond who caught it with ease. She then walked around the camp fire and sat down next to him in silence.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a small blush on his cheeks.

"I've decided to help you." She replied with a smile making the blond's eyes widen and his heart beat faster.

"Help me?" he questioned not believing what he had just heard. "Why?"

"Because I…" she paused for a second as she looked down at the fire, a small blush forming on her cheeks. She shook her head and leaned against the blond. "Because you are my friend and friends stick together." She told him as the blond could only stare at her in silence.

"Mira…you're going to die if you follow me." He told her, he didn't want her to suffer because he chose to avenge his father; she didn't have to follow him with this plan of his.

"I don't care, friends are supposed to help each other." She told him as she took hold of his hand making him look at her in wonder; the girl however kept staring at the fire. "And I want to help you, you deserve better." She said as silence fell over them.

After a few minutes the blond decided to break the silence. "Mira, I can't let you fight, I can't let you die for my goal." He looked towards her and noticed that she had fallen asleep. A small smile appeared on his lips as he grabbed a nearby blanket and covered her while not moving from her spot.

"That's very noble of you." His head snapped in the direction of the sound and narrowed his eyes.

"You!" he called out towards the man who looked calmly towards the blond.

"Please keep your voice down, you don't want to wake her up now do you?" he questioned. Naruto growled slightly, how could this man appear out of nowhere? He looked to his skeletons and ordered them to attack, yet they wouldn't move. His eyes widened at that.

"Are you willing to sacrifice your friend for such a feeble goal?" he questioned drawing the blond's attention.

"I won't do such a thing." He countered.

The man raised an eyebrow as he walked in front of the small cave's entrance. He lifted his cane and looked towards the blond. "And yet you don't plan on turning back, you will keep moving forward towards a fight which you know will only result in either the death of you, your friend or both of you."

Naruto only narrowed his eyes at the man. "She will not die and the dragon will not live to see another day." He said.

The strange man looked at him, as if analyzing him before replying. "You plan on leaving her behind right before the fight." He said making the mage's eyes widen in surprise. "You can't order your minions to take her back down due to how they would react and you won't return until you have fulfilled your quest." He stated.

Naruto bit his lip, he had been read like an open book. How did the man manage to figure out how he would solve his small problem so easily? And why did the man care so much to keep bothering him?

"This is a path that you will regret, if you go beyond this point you will either regret it…or…" he didn't finish his sentence as he turned around and walked out of the cave, stopping outside of it. He turned towards the blond, his eyes bore into his as he spoke in a serious tone. "I can tell you that what you will find at the end of your journey won't be what you expect. You might come to regret it and the repercussions will be dire."

He began walking away ignoring the blond's calls. "Turn back, its not too late." He said before vanishing in small blizzard that had formed outside.

Naruto was left there, alone, to think of what he had been told. He looked down at his friend and smiled as he watched her sleep. Looking down he placed his hand over hers and promised himself that he would never allow her to get hurt, that he would protect her no matter what.

**xXx**

When Mirajane woke up it was night time already, she was laying inside the tent wrapped in blankets. She slowly moved out of her makeshift bed and peered outside the tent; Naruto was sitting next to the campfire and looking at the sky. Suddenly he turned his head towards her and smiled through his helmet.

"Awake already?" he questioned as the girl nodded and moved out of the tent and next to the blond.

"You should sleep as well, who knows what awaits us tomorrow." Mirajane said as the blond nodded and stood up, he moved towards the tent and stopped in front of it.

"If you're going to sit outside then come and get some blankets, you'll freeze to death at these temperatures." He told her.

Without any word she followed the blond inside, he had already sent his armor in its pocket dimension and laid down in the makeshift bed. He looked up at the ceiling, contemplating from the looks of it.

"Something bothering you?" she asked as she moved next to him. Naruto however shook his head and turned around closing his eyes and slowly drifting to sleep.

"Mira." He called out, drawing her attention. "Whatever happens tomorrow, promise me _you _will not take any unnecessary risks for me."

She stood there in silence for several minutes before nodding. "I promise." She said in a low voice, she knew that the blond had already fallen asleep but she felt like he had heard her anyway. She looked at his sleeping form and with a smile she moved next to him, covering both of them with the blankets.

**xXx**

The next day, at the break of dawn, the duo left their camping spot and continued climbing the mountain. Mirajane had been the first to wake up, she was happy that she had been able to spend some time with Naruto like this, before he could wake up she had prepared some food and gathered some of the gear that had been lying around.

After Naruto woke up and both of them ate they packed the remaining gear and set out. The sword which Mirajane had returned to him found its place back on the blond's back.

They had been walking through the snow for several hours, the higher they climbed the colder it got. It felt like they were walking through a freezer. Naruto thanked the heavens that there was no snowstorm, it would have made their journey even worse.

But even so, while they were walking he kept looking back towards Mirajane, making sure that she wasn't lagging behind, making sure that she was still there. He had promised to look after her; he wouldn't go back on his promise.

As they walked Naruto kept feeling like he had been here before, like the path he was walking had been walked by him in the past. He couldn't explain it, everything started to feel more and more familiar with each step he took even though the surrounding area did not change a bit.

After what seemed like hours they reached what looked like a dead end. A massive wall of ice was blocking their path, they could see a crack in the wall that lead towards the other side. He felt like he knew this path as well, his feet started moving without him ordering it and before he knew what he was doing he had already started moving through the crack with Mirajane behind him.

The space was tight, he blond was forced to take the backpack down and carry it in his hand, they side stepped through the path until they reached the other side. Carefully, the blond grabbed his friends hand and helped her exit the path in the new area. She thanked him and looked around.

They were inside a massive cave that stretched as far as the eye could see, if Mirajane was right they were inside the mountain itself. As they looked around a peculiar phenomenon caught their eyes. Even though everything was frozen in this place they saw burnt trees scattered all around them, still standing upright. These were no ordinary trees, they we're much taller than those they had seen in Fiore.

Naruto was scared now, the place was familiar, his heart recognized the place but his mind could not. He was scared to be here. The man's words suddenly echoed in his head, was the man right? Did he find something he was not supposed to?

"Naruto?" he heard Mirajane called, apparently he had been spacing out as she was looking at him with concern.

"Its nothing." He replied as he started walking forward, down a battered path that seemed all too familiar.

They continued walking, the cave seemed like it had no end, for hours they walked through the frozen burnt forest. He looked left and right, trying to remember why this place was so familiar, he looked around trying to find an answer to this place.

A gasp drew his attention to his companion. "Naruto, look!" she called out pointing in front of them. He looked up and froze. A gate stood in front of them, a wooden gate which had been shattered, one of its doors laying on the ground, frozen. Pieces of the gate were also missing and seemed like they had been shattered, but it wasn't the gate itself that made the blond freeze. It was the emblem on top of the gate. A leaf.

"Impossible." He mumbled as he walked forward, stopping in front of the gate and touching it. Memories of his past invaded his mind, memories of ninja leaving the village for missions, of merchants leaving and entering the village to trade. Images of a war machine leaving towards the borders.

Naruto shook his head as he looked down panting. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and looked back towards the girl, worry was written all over her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm alright." He whispered while moving forward past the gate.

As soon as he entered everything changed, even though there was nothing here, the moment he stepped through the gates he could see people, he could see ninja and he could see the merchants. They all looked at him, disgusted, they all looked away as if he was the plague.

Naruto looked to his left, two undistinguishable faces were frozen in ice, they were both miles apart, as if those which were in the middle had vanished a long time ago.

Suddenly, whispers reached his ears. His turned to face the sound; there were people in front of him, whispering, glaring at him. He trembled as he took a step back and looked behind. The gates were closed, intact, ten ninja wearing masks stood there.

"_Return to your post." _One of them ordered, as if addressing the blond. He didn't know why, but he took a step back and then turned around and started leaving.

He felt someone grab his arm and turned around once more, the ninja were still there, but now, in front of them stood Mirajane looking at him with worry. "Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked, she could see the fear in his eyes, he was sweating and trembling. "What is this place?" she questioned as she looked around at the ruins. It looked like a village of sorts, a very old village preserved by time.

Naruto however only shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He opened his eyes and looked around, they were still there. _"They aren't real"_ he said to himself. "Lets go, it should be here." He told his partner. He wasn't sure anymore what he was looking for, there was no way the dragon was here. Even though the cavern stretched so far he had yet to see any way for a dragon to fly out of this place.

They walked through the ruins, looking around, Naruto felt insecure as he walked through the ruins, everywhere he looked he could see the villagers, the ninja, all glaring towards him, all whispering behind his back.

"_It's him; it's the weapon, Hokage-sama's weapon…"_

"My god!" he heard Mirajane exclaim, he looked back towards her, she stood frozen looking towards the direction of the frozen faces. He froze as well at what he saw. Not far away from where they stood was a tree, all green and not frozen. Naruto walked towards it, as if drawn by it. He thought he heard someone call out to him, but he didn't stop, he didn't look behind.

He kept walking; he ignored those around him and their hateful words. He hadn't come here for them or to listen to them. For a moment he stopped, why had he come here? What did he seek? Once more he started moving, the questions vanishing from his mind, erased.

He saw the Hokage looking down at him, he raised his hand and hit him as he fell on the ground. He shouted in pain as the man grabbed him by the throat and yelled at him, ordering him to stop crying, that he was a weapon and not a human being. He closed his eyes, wishing for it to vanish.

A new wave of pain appeared, he opened his eyes, he was in a cell with ninja torturing him. The Hokage watching all the progress, ordering them to do more damage on him, enough for the blond to understand that he was a weapon, a tool to be used for the village. He cried out for them to stop, yet they wouldn't.

For a second he thought something had grabbed him, yet when he looked behind all he could see we're the faces of the villages, looking at him with fear in their eyes. He turned back, once more facing the tree, in front of him stood several ninja's now, all with their backs turned towards him. In between them stood men and women, tied up, again with their backs at him.

They started moving forward, towards the tree. He followed. It didn't take them long to reach their destination, he marveled at the tree. Naruto couldn't remember what it stood for, what its purpose was.

His attention was drawn in front of him once more, several people we're lined up at the base of the tree, their hands tied behind their backs, their heads bowed in front of him. Behind them stood masked ninja, with their swords drawn and pointed at their backs, in front of them stood the man he knew as the Hokage.

He raised his hand towards the blond, calling him. _"Execute them."_ He ordered as the blond stiffened. He didn't want to do it, he didn't want to kill those people. His hand however moved to his sword as he walked forward towards them.

Naruto stopped in front of the first who looked up at him, begging him to spare his life. With a swift motion the blond cut the man's head off, the body falling on the ground, lifeless. He moved towards the next, repeating the same execution, he moved again towards the next doing the same thing, it kept going on and on until he reached the final one. A child.

He looked at the child and it looked back at him fearfully. It cried, it spat at him, it cursed him. He heard the order _"Execute"_ and did as he was told. He watched as the head fell on the ground, the body falling mere seconds later.

He trembled as he dropped his sword next to him and he fell on his knees. He brought his hands up to his head and screamed, what was happening to him? Why was he back in this cursed land? What had happened?

His eyes narrowed as he looked to his sides, people around him called him a _demon_ for following orders, for executing the child, they called him a _monster _for what he had done. He had been ordered to do it! He had no choice! Why we're they all against him? They look at him with those eyes, filled with fear, calling him names. He felt cold.

"Shut up!" he cried out as he grabbed his sword and started slashing towards the first person he saw, cutting them in half. "Shut up!" he cried out once more slashing left and right.

The ninja's did not move, they made no attempts to stop him, the people just kept coming looking at him with those eyes, whispering the same hateful words. He roared to the heavens as he charged towards them, cutting through them, yet with each one he cut down more and more appeared, all whispering and looking at him, ignoring what he was doing and only saying what he had already done.

He cried out for them to stop, he threw his sword towards the Hokage's head, it moved through his head, as if cutting it open and hit the tree behind him, getting stuck in it. Now they changed their whispers, they whispered how he killed the third, how he was to blame for the third's death, how they should have killed him when they had the chance.

Naruto grabbed his head once more as he fell on his knees, shouting in agony.

And then, the whispers stopped, he felt warm. He looked up, they were still there, still looking at him, yet he felt warmer and warmer. Their faces started to fade away until only faceless people stood around him.

He heard someone call out to him, begging him to wake up, telling him that he wasn't a demon, that he wasn't a monster, that it was all a trick. He looked up, the sky was vanishing, replaced by a ceiling of ice. Looking down he saw a person holding him tight, white hair.

"Mira…" he whispered, she was trembling and holding him tight. She looked up at him, her cheeks all puffy and eyes slightly red. Had she been crying? "Mira…" he called out.

The girl grabbed hold of him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. "Don't listen to them; you are not what they say you are. I know you." She told him.

He stood there, listening to her and looking around. The villagers started vanishing; the village started vanishing, replaced by ruins. Yet one thing did not vanish, the tree in which his sword was stuck. It was still green, it was still _'breathing'_. Was this what the man warned him about?

He grabbed hold of the girl in front of him and stood up with her. She pulled back slightly and looked at him questionably. Naruto looked back at her with a smile.

Clapping suddenly drew their attention towards the tree. The man in suit stood there, clapping towards the blond. "Who are you?" Mirajane asked frightfully, she could feel his aura, this man wasn't someone to mess around with, he had a frightening aura.

"So Naruto…have you found that which you've been looking for?" he questioned as the blond trembled, such power radiated from the man, power that he had never felt until now.

"What…is this place?" he questioned, choosing his words carefully this time, this man, it didn't feel like the same person he had met all those times before.

"This? It's your home, what else do you think this is?" he questioned as if the answer had been the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't…" he trembled as he pulled away from Mirajane. "Don't bullshit me!" he yelled out only to have the man's eyebrow raise up. A wave of power washed over the blond making him drop on his knees and tremble in fright.

"Don't raise your voice Naruto. It's impolite." He said as he casually walked towards the blond moving the cane in front of him with each step he took. "As for me … bullshitting you … no, that is not the case, this is what I have been warning you about."

The man stopped in front of the blond and leaned forward towards him, looking in his eyes once more. "I told you that the answer you will find would change you." He told the blond, yet he didn't feel like it was so.

"But…" he started only to have the man stop him, as he pointed towards a graveyard.

"Go and you shall see." He ordered the blond. Both Naruto and Mirajane looked towards the location the man had pointed and when they looked back he was gone.

The two looked at each other. Up until now the man had told him specifically to turn back and now, he told him to go forth and find the answer to this place. He looked in Mirajane's eyes as she looked back at him, she nodded as she extended her hand towards him, offering him support. The blond took her hand, he walked over towards the tree and took back his sword, finally, they both walked in the direction they had been pointed to.

It didn't take them long to reach the place, it was a few minutes away, much less than the blond remembered. They stood in an old graveyard, all frozen with trees burned down, decayed. It was smaller than he remembered, not as glorious as it once was. He looked towards the wall as he saw a door, wide open in front of him.

He let go of her hand and moved forward, light came from the small cave beyond the large doors. Slowly, he stepped inside only to have her grab his hand. Looking back at her he reassured Mirajane that he would be ok, he smiled as he gently pulled, letting her know that she should follow.

They both walked down in the cave, skeletons laid all around them, swords and daggers stuck in their bodies, in their heads. It looked like a final battle had taken place here. After a few minutes they reached a large chamber, like before skeletons were littered all around the place, but what grabbed their attention were three coffins in the middle of the room.

Slowly, they walked towards the coffins and looked through the glass. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the first two, they were all preserved in perfect condition like not a single day had passed since they died. The first and second Hokage, they were still here.

"Naruto." He heard the girl whisper, frightened. He looked at her and then down at the coffin and froze. Inside stood the fourth Hokage. "He looks…just like you." She said as the blond stared at the man's face, he didn't feel anything as he looked at him. He had been shocked the first time he saw him, but he felt nothing for the man which sealed the beast inside of him. He then looked to the side of the coffin and noticed a skeleton wearing the Hokage robes, its hand on the side of the coffin as if it was trying to reach it, a piece of paper in its hand.

Slowly he reached towards the piece of paper and gently took it away from its hand. He opened it and read it, his eyes widening at what he read. It was an apology towards the fourth from the sixth. "What's that?" he heard Mirajane ask, he however folded the small paper and shook his head. "Nothing important." He told her as he looked towards the fourth. "Lets leave, there's nothing here." He said, she could sense the malice in his voice as he said that, she could see the anger in his eyes as he looked towards the coffin. She wanted to ask what was wrong but she didn't, she felt like the blond needed time on his own.

As they walked out of the cave they saw the man waiting for them outside, behind him a war was raging. They could see people, warriors fighting other warriors, swords and _magic_ clashing together. They saw people, not warriors, getting butchered by what they assumed was an invading force. They were killing everyone, sparing none, not even children.

"After you vanished the great army crumbled." They heard the man speak "It wasn't instant, it was a slow process, slow and painful for them." He said as he looked towards the war scene unfolding behind him. "Without you, there was nothing to hold their weapons back." Naruto froze as he saw the eight tailed bijuu rampaging through his old village, slaughtering all those that stood in his way.

"What do you feel Naruto?" he asked suddenly, the blond however kept looking at the scene with no emotion. "Do you feel remorse for them? Do you feel sad for what happened to them?" he questioned curiously.

The young mage looked back at him, his face betraying no emotion. With a cold and calculated voice he replied. "No." Mirajane looked at him with horror in her eyes, scared of what she was hearing.

The blond seemed to have forgotten she was there as he walked forward. "I feel nothing for the insects that treated me worse than my demon did." He told the man in the same voice while walking past him.

"No remorse? Not even for the young?" he questioned curiously, no hint of surprise in his voice.

For a moment the blond paused, he looked at the scene and then at the ground. "For them…and only for them I feel remorse." He said with sorrow as he looked away and continued walking towards the scene.

The man grinned slightly. "Still human I see, you'll do great Uzumaki, I know now you will not disappoint." He said to himself, it wasn't loud enough for the blond to hear but it was loud enough for Mirajane to hear.

She looked towards him, but once more he was no longer there. Just who was the man? Was he a ghost from the past? Or was he something more? She didn't ponder on the questions; she looked towards her friend and ran forward to catch up with him. Slowly, the scene started to vanish until all that stood around them were the ruins like before.

As soon as she caught up with the blond she grabbed his hand to stop him, yet he freed himself and continued to walk. She looked at him with worry in her eyes; he kept walking forward, leaving the ruins and heading towards the cave's exit. She followed him.

As soon as they were out she tried to stop him once more, this time he stopped as he felt her grab his hand. He turned his head slightly towards her, she couldn't see his face through the helmet.

"I know what you want to ask…" he told her "…if I had still been there, I would have fought for the innocent, for the young ones, they did not deserve to suffer for what the elders did." His voice was soft, with little emotions. "The elders…I feel nothing for them." He told her as he looked away and started walking.

"I don't know what was worse, them or Kyuubi." He told her, the name brought up the memory of when they met, when he first lost control over his powers. She wondered what kind of demon that Kyuubi was and what connection he had with it. "Though I think that…my demon was _kinder_ then them." He said with disgust.

They walked in silence for some time, it was getting dark outside yet they didn't stop walking, the blond keep pressing forward as if he was running away from this place, as if he wanted to go as far away as possible.

"Naruto…" she started drawing his attention "…how old do you think you are?" she questioned.

For a second the blond stopped as he thought, he then started walking again as he replied. "If I was frozen in time…I guess centuries old…" he laughed a bit as he found that funny. "…if not…I'm as old as I am now." He said turning towards her and smiling making her blush slightly as she could now see his smiling face.

He turned around and shook his head. "Its irrelevant anyway, the past is done for and I have no desire to think about it." Naruto finished, she knew that he wouldn't talk about it anymore even if she pressed on; she smiled and moved next to him, enjoying his company once more.

* * *

**Note**: And now that I have barricaded myself and await for the pitchforks and torches…I will give a virtual cookie for the one (or ones) that can guess who the man in suit is and who was my reference for him.

You however grumpy are not allowed to say anything, you get no cookie since you know the answer. Ha!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 12**

Three days had passed since the two mages left the treacherous mountain and its surrounding area. They hadn't met with the strange man since they left the cavern, they didn't mind however. There was something off with him and neither of them wanted to find out just what it was that made them so powerless against him at the end.

They had kept quiet during the trip, the little conversation they had mostly resolved as to where they should spend the night, if they should do such a thing and where to eat when they were hungry.

"Hey Naruto." Mirajane called out as he looked up from his end of the table. They were currently in a town not far from the border, eating at one of its restaurants while they waited for the train.

"Hmm?" she was looking down at her food in deep thought.

"What do you think will happen now?" she questioned.

The blond just stood looking at his plate, not really knowing how to reply to the question. There were a lot of things he didn't know anymore, the revelation he had found in the mountain had kept him thinking ever since.

"We'll just have to see I guess." He replied with a small smile as he continued eating his food. The girl just laughed softly and shook her head, he was right on that account, none of them could see into the future, they would never be able to tell what the future holds.

They just had to wait and see, hope that things would finally settle down, that all the madness would finally come to an end.

Like always, things didn't come to end, it was just the beginning.

On the way back to Fairy Tail, not far from Magnolia, the train they were on had stopped. A platoon of the council's finest, the Rune Knights boarded the train and began scouting it like they were searching for someone.

Naruto just looked at them with a bored expression, he wasn't afraid of them anymore. After what he had seen and learned from that man he came to realize that in this world there were scarier things, things that a mere man, or a handful of them couldn't create.

"I wonder what's happening." Mirajane whispered towards the blond, her eyes following the Rune Knight's outside.

Naruto didn't answer her, his eyes were also focused on the knight's. The door to the passenger car they were in had opened and several knight's enters, looking from one seat to the other.

As they reached the seat in which Naruto and Mirajane stood one of them stopped and looked at the blond.

The blond looked away from the window as he felt someone staring at him and made eye contact with the man.

Said man then turned his head to the side and made a motion to the rest before looking back at the blond. Mirajane didn't like where this was going.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" he questioned as the blond kept quiet, staring at the man.

"I won't ask a second time boy." He threatened with a glare, one that was matched by the blond.

With a scowl he replied however, there was no point in angering these people. "That would be me. What do the Rune Knight's want with me?" he questioned as the man moved back a bit allowed to of his squad mates to step forward towards the blond and grab him by the shoulders.

"You are to come with us." He replied as the blond was lifted up on his feet.

Mirajane stood up with a glare as she turned towards the knight. "Under what charges are you taking a member of Fairy Tail?" she questioned angrily.

"Charges of working with the traitor councilman." He said as the boy's eyes widened, his scowl deepening.

"I knew it would come biting me in the ass sooner or later." He replied as he shook the knight's off him only to have them tense and reach for their weapons. "I'll come quietly." Naruto said fast, he didn't want to start a battle here.

"Naruto! You can't go with them!" his friend shouted with worry as she locked eyes with him.

The mage just shook his head as he looked at her. "Don't worry, they most likely just want to know what that bastard had me do when I was with the knight's." he reassured the girl as he moved out in the walkway.

"But…" she started again.

"I'll come back in no time." He stated once more with a smile.

She couldn't argue with him anymore as he began walking away. "Be sure to tell Erza I said hi." He called out as he vanished from the car, leaving the girl alone.

It was strange, it felt very strange that the council would go to such lengths to find the blond. They could have sent a message to the guild if they needed an audience with him, yet they just tracked him down.

She looked back out the window as the train started to depart. The blond was outside talking with the leader of the knight's if she wasn't mistaking, nothing seemed out of place, he had even turned and waved goodbye towards her, a wave that she reluctantly mirrored.

In mere seconds the train had left, the blond was alone with the Knight's.

He turned to face them only to be pushed towards the ground, his hands pulled behind his back and cuffed. "You could have been gentler." He growled out as the man forcefully lifted him up.

"The council awaits." He said as he pushed the blond forward. It was going to be a long walk.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

He looked up at the imposing building, he had been here before to deliver his reports to the councilman, to Siegrain. Ever since the man first appeared he had felt a very bad vibe coming from him and now, after the events at the tower he knew why.

For a moment the blond regretted agreeing to work with the councilman, or at least agreeing to take his missions. But they paid good, it gave him reputation and it helped him climb the ladder in knighthood.

He just never expected to come back and bite him so hard.

As they entered the building the first thing he noticed was the increased number of guards. It had tripled since he last saw the place.

There were at least four posted at the door, at least two facing each other every corner in the hallway, four of them at every door. He didn't know what to expect, if the council members were the same like the last time he was here, the same people, there wouldn't be any problems.

He knew two of them, one had been a good friend of his adoptive father, the other was a friend of Makarov.

"Wait here." The captain walking in front of them as the group came to a halt with the blond. He looked up as the captain entered the council chamber and closed the door behind him.

Naruto looked to his sides; the men were tense, as if they were expecting something to happen. Or maybe they were expecting him to make a move and for them to attack. A small grin appeared on his face, he wasn't stupid to do something like this, he'd get his ass handed to him most likely if he tried to put up a fight, there were just too many to handle at once.

He had to admit, the thought of escaping had passed his mind. A self-preservation act from the time he had been a weapon. Getting captured by the enemy was bad, but getting arrest by your own people, that was worse. He couldn't count the number of times he had tried to escape from Danzo's men in the past, only to fail all the time because of the seal.

Once more he was shaken out of his thoughts as the doors opened and the captain stepped out. He walked up to the blond and moved to the side. "They are waiting for you."

No choice, he had to see what they wanted and hope it wasn't that bad.

He walked forward, the doors closing behind him.

"Step forward." He heard a booming voice from the end of the room. The mage did as he was told.

The closer he got the better he could see the council. Fear started creeping in his heart as he looked at each one of them. The majority of the old council had changed and to top it all of none of his "acquaintances" were on it now.

This was bad.

"Uzumaki Naruto." The chairman started as he looked over the blond with critical eyes. "Remove your helmet." With a nod the blond sent his helmet into the pocket dimension and looked up at the man, his eyes betraying no emotion.

With a nod the chairman turned towards his second and whispered something, he nodded as well as he looked over some papers.

They stood in silence for what seemed like ages until the second spoke up.

"Do you know why you are here?" he questioned as the blond mage just shook his head slightly.

The man however just glared towards the blond, not answering the question, as if the blond knew perfectly well what he was here for.

"You are here because of your connection with the one known as _Siegrain_." One of the councilmen suddenly stated, the man spat out with such distain that it made the blond gulp.

Silently the blond cursed, this was bad, they thought he had some kind of connection other the _contractor_ and _worker_ with the old council member.

"Sirs." He started while looking towards them, he needed to pick his words carefully. "I had no idea who the man was and only accepted job's that I had assumed were legal…" he started only for the chairman to raise his hand stopping the blond.

"This is not about that." He said, the anger not vanishing from his tone. With a glare he looked at the blond and then towards a guard giving him a nod.

The guard walked forward towards the blond and dropped a dossier in front of him. Naruto just looked at it strangely as the man opened it and arranged several papers in front of him to read.

His eyes slowly widened as he began to tremble, loosing the power in his feet. That bastard had kept a record on him ever since they met and on numerous occasions he had said how he was trying to revive Zeref using his powers, how he was trying to awaken him.

The mage felt like fainting as he read a line in which Siegrain had started detailing the blond's power, what connection it had with Zeref and what it was capable of doing.

If that wasn't enough, it went into detail explaining on both the attack on his hometown and the castle happened, why it happened and what it meant – though for the latter the blond had been more than sure it was just speculation on the councilman's part.

Finally, the deranged words left behind by the now dead mage only served to complicate things for the blond.

The beast had found his hometown only because Siegrain had lured it there, freed it from the depths in which it had been sealed.

Fighting the beast – his first meeting with Fairy Tail – was because he wanted his powers to awaken, Fairy Tail was not supposed to interfere.

The only reason he had been allowed to join the war was because Siegrain had pulled the strings.

The reason he had been sent to scout during the war was because of recommendation.

He had been captured because Siegrain had tipped the vampire's on his location.

Fully aware of what might happen if he was sent to the _restoration chamber_ in the castle, Siegrain had specifically told his father to lock him there.

The blond dropped on his knees. All the horrors that had happened in his life were because someone had pulled the right strings, because someone had tried to resurrect a dead person.

"Stand." The man ordered.

Shakily, Naruto stood up and looked up at the man, fear and despair etched in his blue orbs.

"Due to the evidence we found in _his_ journals we place you under arrest with no pardon, for the rest of your life." The man stated as his eyes widened in fear.

"You can't do this!" Naruto shouted as his mind began racing for answers. "Under code thirty-six of Knighthood I am to be given pardon to bring evidence that contradicts that which was presented here. Under code ninety-two I am allowed to accept missions from the council without reprecautions should the giver turn on the council and the mages. Under code …"

"Enough!" shouted the second with a glare as the blond took a step back.

"If you would have been a knight, you would have been pardoned, you would not have been here before us in the first place." Another councilman stated as a second guard walked forward and tossed another journal in front of the blond. He opened it and littered several pieces of paper once more for the blond to read.

"You have been excommunicated, your castle lies in ruins, you are a knight with no castle." The blond trembled as the man continued speaking. "No…you aren't a knight anymore, you are a mage with dangerous powers that needs to be locked away."

His head bolted up as he began shouting. "You can't lock me up! I did nothing wrong!"

"You hold Zeref's power! Your village was nearly destroyed and your castle is in shambles. You worked with the vampires, you summoned creatures of the abyss!" the chairman shouted as he glared towards the shrinking blond.

There was nothing he could say to these people, they wouldn't listen to him no matter how hard he tried to explain them that he hadn't intended to use his powers against people. That he didn't want to work against them or become a second Zeref.

They just wouldn't listen to what he said.

"Take him away!" he heard the chairman shout as he doors opened and knight's marched in. His eyes narrowed as a flash from the past appeared before his eyes.

As the knights got close he twisted his body and slammed his head in the first knight knocking him off his feet, he spun around delivering a kick in the second one's face as he tried to rip his bindings off.

"Stop him!" he heard someone shout, he didn't know anymore of the council was shouting or if the knight's were. His mind went into overdrive as he tried to find a way escape.

He knew very well what happened to mages with dangerous powers, they weren't locked away, they were executed.

The mage turned towards the approaching knight and jumped up, falling on top of the man. He delivered a kick in the second knight's face sending him flying away.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his feet as he fell to the ground, four knights restraining his limbs.

Naruto shouted to the heavens as power burst from him, blowing the knights away.

Before he could jump back on his feet however the captain appeared before him slamming his sword in his stomach.

The mage gasped for air as he felt his power leaving his body, seals appearing all around him. In mere seconds his powers vanished with the seals, his wound healing as well. Before he could react the knights jumped on him and grabbed him again, restraining him.

It was over.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

He stared at the dark walls, listening to the water drip in the hallway. They had placed him at the far end of the prison, deep in its lowest levels like he was the lowest of all scum.

It reminded him of back home, back to the time he was a weapon.

He felt the need to break free, but without his magic, without his powers, he couldn't do anything anymore.

With a sigh he leaned on the cold wall and looked up. He could vaguely see the ceiling in the darkness; years of training and having a powerful demon locked inside of him had strengthened his eyes. Not that it helped him much now.

Naruto wasn't sure how long had passed since he had been locked up here. Most likely they threw him here and left him to rot.

He closed his eyes and listened to the world around him, there wasn't anything to do here. There was nothing to think about, he knew he was here because of Siegrain, it pissed him off when he thought about it. If the man was still alive Naruto would make sure to kill him in such a gruesome way that no one would recognize the remains.

A loud _bang_grabbed his attention as the mage opened his eyes.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway, heading towards him. Only a pair of footsteps and judging by the hard sound they made the owner was a knight; or was wearing plate armor.

The person stopped in front of his cell's door. A _click_ reached his ears as the door was flung open and light invaded the chamber. He raised his hand to his eyes, avoiding the light just enough for his eyes to adjust to it.

After a few minutes he lowered his hand and looked at the person in front of him. It was a woman wearing white robes, a hood covering her face. What got his attention was the marking on her chest plate – a griffon holding two swords.

His eyes widened, he had seen that marking before. With a swift move he stood up and moved towards the woman, only to feel something tugging his leg. Looking down he noticed the chain attached to his leg.

"Oh my…acting like barbarians." He heard the woman mutter with disapproval as he heard her unsheathe her sword.

As he turned to face her his eyes made contact with the sword as it descended upon him. Unconsciously he closed his eyes, yet the strike never came, instead he heard the unmistakable sound of metal hitting metal.

"There, that should be much better." She said once more as she sheathed her sword. Opening his eyes he looked back down at his leg and noticed she had cut the chain.

This he did not expect. He turned to face her with shock written all over his face. "What?" he questioned, he was too shocked to come up with any kind of question. Everything had happened so fast that he couldn't understand anything.

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "No thank you?" she questioned as the blond blinked dumbly. A small frown appeared on her face as she turned around and began leaving.

His eyes widened for a second as he ran after her. "Hey wait!" he called out yet the woman kept walking, ignoring him. "Please stop!" he called out again only for the woman to ignore him. With a grumble the blond stopped. "Thank you." He called out making the woman come to a halt.

She giggled softly before laughing towards the blond who couldn't comprehend what was happening. Calming down the woman shook her head as she began walking away once more.

"Come with me" she said while walking.

With a frown the blond moved once more, he walked fast until he was right behind the woman that had freed him.

As they reached the end of the hallway the door was blown open as a Rune Knight rushed in. "Milady!" he called out raising a pair of keys in front of him. "You need them to…" he stopped talking as he saw the blond behind the woman, he noticed the cut chain and sighed. "…I guess you didn't really need keys."

She waved her hand dismissively as she began walking away. "Just remove the remaining restraint." She ordered as the man nodded and walked towards the blond, bending down and undoing the shackle.

Naruto said nothing as the shackle came undone, he looked up towards the woman only to notice she had vanished. With wide eyes he ran forward leaving the knight behind, intent of finding out where she had vanished to.

He ran out of the cell block and down a long corridor until he came to another opened door at the end of said corridor. Inside he found stairs leading up and the woman sitting in a chair, drinking from a cup. She looked up at the blond and stood up.

"Good…follow me." She told the blond once more as she moved towards the stairs.

"Wait!" he called out again stopping her "Who are you? What's going on here?" he questioned.

It wasn't every day that someone would just barge into a cell, free the captive, walk past the guard like it was nothing and expect nothing to happen. For all he knew she was leading him towards his executioner.

The woman looked at him, she raised an eyebrow – though he could not see it due to her hood – and answered his question. "You will learn soon enough who I am, as for what is going on here…" she paused for a second "…you are free of course." A smile appeared on her lips as the blond blinked in confusion.

His rescuer turned around and began walking up the stairs. With a shake of his head the blond ran up towards her, going up the stairs after the strange woman and calling her out.

"Hold up! What do you mean I am free?" he questioned "I was sent to _death,_ there is no way I could be free."

For a moment she stopped on the stairs. "If you really believe you deserve to be sentenced for life then go back into the cell, if not, stop asking stupid questions." She told him stoically as she began walking away once more.

This left the blond rooted in his place.

A few seconds later he began walking once more, going up the stairs towards the top floor where the woman was waiting.

She nodded as she saw him appear and continued walking.

The guards at the large doors saluted her as they opened it to reveal a second door and another group of guards. They too saluted and opened their door revealing the council hallway that lead towards the council chambers.

He didn't know that this hallway also lead towards a dungeon, then again, he had been knocked out after they arrested him in the council chambers.

A million questions flooded his mind as they walked through the hallway, the guards not even stopping them. Didn't the council arrest him? How did that change?

Looking at the woman he began wondering if she had something to do with it, or if she was the one that would execute him. Naruto shook his head, that was out of the question.

"You can call out your armor." The woman suddenly said as the blond looked at her and then at him. He was wearing some torn up clothes, most likely his armor retracted into the pocket dimension after his powers had been sealed.

With a nod he called for his armor, yet nothing happened. "My powers are still sealed." He mumbled, stating the obvious. Without his powers he couldn't call for his armor, it was stuck in the pocket dimension.

She stopped walking and looked back towards him with a hint of surprise. The woman looked away and said something to herself, as if she was berating herself for forgetting that.

The blond watched as she walked forward towards him, the woman moved her hands on his cheeks and smiled. Before he could react she moved forward and pressed her lips against his making his eyes widen.

Suddenly he felt his powers coming back to him. The woman moved back a little and smiled as she took a step back, releasing the blond. "There, now you can." The strange knight told him as she turned around and began walking once more.

Still in daze the blond summoned his armor and helmet, the ragged clothes disappeared, his body now covered in his old armor.

"Here." The woman shouted as she threw an object towards him, he caught it with ease. It was his sword, one of the Rune Knight's had delivered the sword to the woman who in turn gave it back to the blond

The two walked out of the building, she walked over to a horse. Naruto stopped walking as he looked at her; the woman looked back at him.

"Any questions you have will be explained as we go." She said as she walked forward towards her. "Besides, you are supposed to follow me if you don't want to go back in that cell."

Without any other choice the blond walked forward, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

The two rode in silence for what seemed like hours. Naruto stood behind the woman as they made their way on the road towards Magnolia.

Despite the fact that she had told him she would answer his questions as they go nothing had been revealed so far and he didn't know how to start the conversation.

There were many things he wanted to know about her, about the reason he was set free and what it meant to be free. Was he now bound to some higher power to do their bidding? Were they going to monitor him forever from now on? There were many questions and he had no idea how to voice them.

"I'm surprised…" the strange knight suddenly spoke drawing his attention. "…you've been very quiet, I believed you had a lot of questions."

It was true, he did have a lot of questions.

"Yes, just didn't know how to begin." He replied while looking towards her back. The woman gave a small nod.

"Go from the start then."

With a nod the blond began questioning her. "Who are you people?" he asked as the woman grinned.

"We are an order, different from those in this land." She answered simply making the blond raise an eyebrow.

"What does your order do and who is your leader then?" he pressed forward as the woman replied instantly.

"We handle tasks that the Rune Knights cannot and Guild's must not know of." She replied cryptically. "As far as our leader goes…you could say the King…but the King is only the figure so to speak. Our true leader is someone you know." That was an interesting reply in his mind.

In a way they served the king if he understood right, but at the same time the king wasn't the one that controlled them – or at least fully controlled them. But someone he knew? The first person that came to his mind was the vampire princess, but that couldn't be right, he couldn't feel anything out of place with the woman. She had magic, but she felt human.

"What are these things that you handle?" he questioned deciding to ignore his previous trail of thoughts.

"Anything other-worldly." She answered making the blond sigh once more. But then he remembered the first encounter they had with the dagger that could summon wraiths, so maybe she was referring to things like that.

"But then…what about me?" he questioned looking at her.

There was a pause before the woman replied. "You are as sane as you can get, you pose no problem and as such we have no intention to harm you." She said making the blond sweat drop, it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for.

"Why help me?" he questioned as the woman looked slightly towards him.

"We were told to." She answered making him sigh, there was no other reason for them as members to help him and she didn't tell him why their leader wanted to help him.

"Then...have you people been watching me up until now?" he questioned as he remembered when she said that they had no problems with him since he posted no problem.

It took her several minutes before replying to his question. "Not all the time, after our first encounter we had someone follow you around for a few months, after that we stopped." she replied nonchalantly.

"Then, when I went to the war..." he started only to have her interrupt him.

"No, we didn't follow you at that time, we don't know what you did at that time nor do we wish to know. Our leader told us you are trustworthy and because of that we won't try to find answers regarding who you are, what you are..." she stopped as she looked away from the blond, not realizing that she had turned to face him.

Then the blond decided to ask something that had been bothering him since their first meeting. "Why is it that barely anyone knows of your existence?" he questioned.

The young mage waited for her to reply, yet she never did, he waited for minutes and even asked her again but she kept silent.

He didn't question further after that, no matter what he asked her she would just dodge the question or give an incomplete answer. Despite the fact that she told him she would answer any question he had she managed to dodge some of the most important questions.

They rode in silence for hours; Naruto just sat thinking about the events with the council. The truth about his power was out there, in their hands now, most likely they would use the information they have now as an excuse to monitor his every step. That didn't bode well with the blond, he had enough of that when he was in Konoha, to have the same thing happen in the future was not ideal.

He began to think of what to tell Mirajane when he'd met her back at the guild, he didn't want to worry her or anyone else about what happened with the council.

The blond was pulled out of his thoughts as they came to a halt. The woman looked at him. "This is where we part ways." She said as the blond nodded and got off the horse.

Without saying anything else the woman turned around and rode away in the direction they came from, leaving the blond at the edge of the forest. Turning around he saw the town of Magnolia just a few hours away.

As he started walking down the road his mind drifted back to what he would tell the guild, he hoped that they wouldn't ask him anything but that was just impossible.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

As Naruto entered the town he noticed something was different, there were more people walking the streets that usual, more merchants in the town market displaying their wares and more people buying said wares. Several people were staring at him and talking about him as he walked passed, when he looked towards them they would either look away or smile and nod towards him as if they knew who he was.

While walking the blond came across a magazine stand, in there he saw the weekly sorcerer magazine. He stopped in front of the stand and took one, skimming through it and the pictures it offered; a smile creped on his face as he saw the members of Fairy Tail. At the very end there was a page that made him raise an eyebrow. It was dedicated to him, while there was no picture, but a rough drawing – a sketch under which the author said it was drawn from the description of Fairy Tail's members – it was written on who he was, what type of person he was and where he came from.

The author wrote that before joining the guild he had been part of the Royal Guard, a Knight in service to castle Kimos that had decided to leave wanting to see more of the world and to use his magic in service for a guild. He raised an eyebrow at that, they had made up a story for him, while the reason for him to leave knighthood was strange it was already said and done.

As he read on he noticed that the author had mentioned that he didn't know what magic powers he had, that the members of Fairy Tail wanted to keep it a secret and let their fellow member answer that question. He noticed at the end that the article had been written with help from Erza Scarlet, Mirajane and Lisanna.

He raised an eyebrow while closing the magazine and placing it back in the stand, he hadn't expected Erza of all people to make up lies, that is if she was the one that did his background story. At least it explained why people were looking at him so funny, he somewhat resembled the man in the drawing. It didn't bother him, the stares he was receiving were different from the ones in the past, but it was still a bit unnerving however.

It didn't take long for him to reach the guild, he was surprised to see the new look. It was obvious that the guild would receive a new look but he hadn't expected something so grand. With cautious steps he walked up to the large doors and opened them, the inside was even more exquisite then he would have imagined.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." He heard someone call out. Looking towards the source he was surprised to see one of the waitresses wearing new outfits. The girl blinked as she looked towards the blond and them a smile appeared on her face. "Ah, Naruto-san, welcome back!" she said, her smile never leaving her face.

"Uh…thanks…" the blond replied unsure as the girl giggled and allowed the blond to step inside, the entire place was packed with members, all of them laughing, talking, drinking and sharing a good time with one another. He was surprised that there wasn't a fight taking place, he had known Fairy Tail mostly for its in-house fighting.

"Naruto? Is that you?" he turned towards Lisanna, a shocked looked on her face.

The blond nodded as he walked over to her. "Where have you been? Are you alright?" she questioned as she ran up to the blond and began inspecting him for wounds.

Naruto chuckled as he saw her reaction. "I'm fine Lisanna, don't worry." He said as the girl pulled back and looked at him.

"Not worry? Naruto! No one has heard of you for three days!" she nearly shouted drawing the attention of several members as they all began murmuring around, noticing the blond.

The blond mage was surprised at that, he had been gone for three days? Was it from the time when he vanished to slay the dragon up until now? Or had he been locked up in that cell for those three days?

"Naruto, welcome back!" this time it was the guild master that shouted as he appeared on the table next to the blond. Said blond chuckled as he nodded towards the master.

Moments later every guild member started swarming the blond, welcoming him back, asking where he had been, if he was alright. The blond was taken by surprise by that, he barely knew most of the members here yet they were all clamoring on him, worrying about him as if he was their friend.

It was strange, he didn't know what to say to them, what to tell them. They were all genuinely concerned about his wellbeing and that alone froze the blond, making him unable to answer any question. He was used to having people like Lisanna or Makarov worry about him, they had known him more than the rest and they knew his secret.

"Everyone, give him some room to breathe." They all pulled a little back as Mirajane walked forward in front of the blond. He stared at her and she stared at him before a smile appeared on her face. She moved up to him and grabbed him in a hug taking the blond by surprise.

Moments later she pulled back and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from everyone. "Sorry all, we have business to discuss." She said as the blond wondered what she was planning, he even noticed the old man following them with Lisanna.

They entered the master's office, closing the door behind them. Makarov walked to his desk and motioned for the blond to sit in the chair in front of him. He did as he was told; while he sat down he noticed Mirajane taking a seat next to him as Lisanna remained at the door.

The mage turned to face his guild master. "Naruto, before I begin with my questions I have something I must tell you." He said as the boy nodded, he offhandedly wondered what the old man wanted to ask. "Three days ago I was summoned to the council regarding one of my members, what they showed…it wasn't pleasant." He said with a grim look on his face, Naruto didn't need to know what the old man saw, he already had an idea about it.

Makarov paused for as second as he looked through some papers. "Then when I return not only do I discover you had a quarrel with Erza but I also learn that you've been arrested." He finished while looking up towards the blond mage. "I feared what the reason for what they arrested you, yet here you are, back in Fairy Tail. I'd like to know what happened."

The young mage stood silent for several minutes, processing what the old man had told him. "I…" he stopped trying to think of what to tell the man, he knew there was no point in lying to him or the sisters, they were his friends, they were there for him.

To intensify that he felt Mirajane place her hand on his and hold it, as he looked at her the blond saw her smiling and nodding, encouraging him, telling him that everything would be fine, that no matter what happened they would still be there for him.

"I…was arrest for carrying this magic that I have." He answered truthfully as he looked from the girl towards the master. The man had a passive expression as he motioned for the blond to continue. "They didn't care what I had to say and just threw me in jail, I think I would have been executed eventually…" he stopped as he felt Mirajane tighten her hold on his hand. "…however, I was freed…" he said stopping once more.

"That much is obvious, what made them change their minds?" Makarov questioned, he too knew what was supposed to happen to Naruto.

When Mirajane had returned asking him frantically to go to the council and ask them to free Naruto he already knew what was going to happen. All he could do is try and calm the girl, to promise her that everything would be alright, even though deep down he knew there was nothing he could do and that the blond was going to die. He didn't want to let his children suffer, he didn't want them to take a rash decision and attack the council, he had been in a pinch and even though he hated himself for that, he had chosen the rest of his children over Naruto.

"I'm not entirely sure…" Naruto replied with a frown. "…I was bailed out by a woman working under the King." That made the old man raise an eyebrow, it was very rare for the King to interfere in the magic council's business; true that he controlled them and everything in Earthland, but it was rare for him to intervene in magic affairs.

He shook his head however, he was glad that the blond had been freed. "And they will leave you alone now?" he questioned as the blond shrugged.

"She didn't tell me, but I suspect the council will be breathing down my back from this day forward." He replied as the old man just laughed.

"As long as you don't give them a reason to lock you up again there's nothing to worry about." Makarov said as he sat up. "Come then, everyone is eager to see you." The old man said as he ushered them out, Mirajane holding the blond's hand and dragging him out of the office.

Once outside they came face to face with everyone in the guild, welcoming the blond home. It put a smile on the boy's face as he shook his head and sent his helmet back into the pocket dimension. For the first time since he joined everyone was staring at him, apart from a few people no one had seen his face, let alone the cheesy grin he was giving them.

He spent the entire day celebrating with everyone, telling them the tale of his little trip all the while making sure he left out certain details. During his 'story-telling' Erza had approached him, surprising everyone as she bowed before him and apologized towards the blond for what she had said before they parted ways.

While no one in the guild apart from Mirajane, Naruto and team Erza knew what she meant for the blond it was shocking to see someone apologize to him. During his trip he had come to understand her position and why she said those things, or at least some of them, he respected that and respected her. The fact that she apologized before him for certain things she had said made him respect her even more.

It took some time however to convince her that she didn't need to apologize to him, that he didn't need her to perform any kind of duty for him, but in the end they spent the day, with the guild, just chatting and having fun.

He had to admit, the redhead was a fun person to be around – at least when she wasn't giving out orders. She had her fun side, she knew how to have fun with people and entertain them.

Then there was Mirajane, she stuck with him from the start, not leaving his side even for a second. He recognized the look she was giving him, he recognized that look in her eyes and didn't know what to say to her. It was Mirajane that started most of the conversations between them, she wanted to know more about him, about his past and his likes. If someone asked him he would have openly admitted it that he had fun talking with her, so much fun that he had never noticed when the rest of the guild had left them alone, sitting at one of the tables and talking.

By the time he did notice he didn't care anymore. He was entranced by her, absorbing every word and laughing at every joke she made. It took him by surprise when she started flirting with him; it was very subtle, if he hadn't dated someone in the past though he would have never figured out what she was doing or trying to do.

As they were talking he noticed a lot of people preparing for something. "Hey Mira-chan, is something going on?" he questioned as the girl looked around and then smiled.

"Oh that, we are having a Miss Fairy Tail contest." She said while turning towards the blond who nodded. "You'll vote for me right?" the white haired girl asked sweetly as the blond nodded not paying attention.

Then her words rang through his mind making him choke as he looked towards her, the sweet smile still present on her face. Naruto blushed as he gave a nod, he couldn't say no to a girl, especially one like Mirajane.

After a few more minutes of talking Mirajane left saying that she needed to prepare for the contest, leaving Naruto to sit alone at the table to think. He had never expected Mirajane of all people to act like that with him, to flirt with him. In a way he hoped it meant what he though, that she liked him, but at the same time he didn't want that. The blond was scared, he didn't want her to suffer because of him or be hurt because of him. But in the end, only time would tell.

His attention was drawn to the podium as the contest started. The first person to step up was Cana, using her cards to change her costumes, the second person was the newest addition to the guild, Juvia. He was surprised to see her using the water to change into her swimsuit, but then again he shouldn't have been so surprised considering he and Erza had their own pocket dimensions for their gear, most likely she had something similar with her magic.

The third person was none other than Mirajane, he watched her with interest. A sly smile appeared on her face as she let her dress drop revealing another dress, more specifically the same dress she wore when they met the second time, a black one piece dress with a short skirt holding the top together with a ring and a string that went around her neck. He heard many cheers at what she wore, he had to admit that she looked much better in that dress.

He watched as she left the podium with the same sly smile and Erza appeared, she used her re-equip to change into a maid's outfit electing many cheers from the audience. He tuned out the rest of the show as he saw Laxus appearing in the guild and walking in the shadows. This made the blond raise an eyebrow but didn't ponder on it, it wasn't his problem what the man was trying to do or where he was trying to go.

Suddenly he heard everyone scream and turned towards the source, his eyes widened in shock as he saw the scene before him, the contestants turned to stone as Laxus suddenly appeared on the podium with two other people he had never seen.

Everyone was calling out his name in fury and the name of those next to him, apparently they were his bodyguards.

"Stop it!" Makarov suddenly yelled as the blond's eyes widened in horror seeing a lighting bolt descending upon Lucy's frame. Before it could hit however it redirected its course, crashing into the ground next to her.

"I'll take these girls as hostages." The man said with a grin as he wrapped his arm around Lucy's neck. "I'll destroy them one by one if you break the rules…like I said, this is the main show." The blond grit his teeth as he heard that; Mirajane was also among the hostages.

The blond slowly stood up as he moved towards the podium, his bangs covering shadowing his eyes. Everything around him was silent, he couldn't hear anyone else apart from the blond man towards which he was walking.

"What is this I hear about hostages?" he suddenly asked drawing everyone's attention on him.

Laxus grinned as he saw the blond and bent forward. "Oh who is this? The member that ran away from the guild after a petty argument?" he questioned while laughing.

Naruto whoever gave no reply, he continued walking towards the podium. "Under Royal Guard code twenty-two, all criminals that take hostages are to be eliminated…" he mumbled while slowly drawing out his sword which started shimmering with a deathly green hue.

The man blinked towards him before bursting out into laughter. "A reject Royal Guard that's more of a bookworm tried to become a mage and failed even at that, this is just…" his rant was cut short as the blond vanished from his spot only to appear in front of him. His eyes boring into him as his sword came crashing down towards the lighting mage's skull.

With a fast spell the mage teleported himself away mere seconds before the sword hit, instead of hitting him the sword cut the ground where he once stood. The blond slowly pulled his sword out and turned his head towards the mage. "Release the spell…" he ordered in a deadly tone as he glared to the three _hostiles_.

The man snorted despite the fact that he had been one step away from death. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, or…" he snapped his fingers as two lightning bolts connected with the ground around Mirajane making Naruto stop dead in his tracks. "…she'll turn to dust." He grinned evilly as the blond began to tremble in fury.

"And now that I have your attention!" he called out once more with a grin on his face "Let the show begin." With a snap of his fingers he and his comrades vanished in a blinding light.

While everyone was screaming in fury and running towards the exit to catch the man and his bodyguards the blond walked over to Mirajane's frozen frame and looked at her. He moved his hand towards her face, touching it and thinking if his power could reverse whatever magic had been used on her.

He stood there for several minutes, looking through his power, trying to find something that would help him. Yet no matter how much he searched he couldn't find anything that would break the spell on his friends.

Friends…he paused as that word passed through his mind, he didn't know when he started thinking of them as friends but there was no denying it, they were his friends and they were in trouble. As he looked at Mirajane he felt his heart sting, it pained him to know that her life hanged by a thin line and that one wrong move would end it.

That though angered him, it made him grit his teeth in anger as he pulled his hand away and stepped back. He was not going to stand around and let that bastard get away with this, he was not going to sit idly and wait for him to kill her off, he had lost too much, he wouldn't let fate spit in his face anymore.

He turned towards the door as he walked forward and jumped off the podium, he took notice of Lisanna standing near Makarov who didn't seem to be fairing very well, he saw Laxus not far away from where he was with an insane look on his face. Before he could strike again the man vanished.

Without a second thought the blond walked towards the exit intent on finding the bastard, as he reached the exit he suddenly hit something making him fall on the ground on his back.

"You too!" the remaining occupants shouted in disbelief, Makarov, Natsu, Gajeel and Lisanna.

Naruto groaned as he grabbed his head and looked up, reading the rules placed on the door. Apparently no one older than eighty was allowed to pass. He grit his teeth at that, at least now he knew the answer to a question that had been bugging him from time to time every since he left that mountain, but it wasn't something he wanted to know.

With a growl he stood back up and punched the invisible wall only to pull back and hold his hand in pain.

He was drawn out of his attempts as he heard them all scream again, he saw Erza's statue cracking and his eyes widened in fear. His fear vanished and was replaced with shock when the statue cracked open to reveal Erza unharmed, the girl glared towards Natsu and punched him sending him flying away.

"Erza? How?" Makarov questioned, surprise evident in his voice.

"I don't know myself, perhaps it has something to do with my right eye…" she replied moving her hand to her face, the old man smirked as he now knew that the tables had turned. "I also heard what is happening, I won't let this go on any further." She growled as she turned towards the door. "Naruto?" she questioned seeing him there, she would have expected him to be outside already.

The blond growled as he turned towards the exit once more. "This shitty magic won't hold me back." He told them as he looked towards Mirajane one more time. "I won't let that bastard harm her or anyone else." He nearly shouted as his magic spiked up.

Letting out a battle cry he moved forward punching the barrier again and again until his fist began to bleed. "Stop it Naruto! That isn't helping!" Makarov called out making the blond mage take a step back.

"I don't care anymore!" the blond mage shouted as his power burst from him, encompassing his entire body and making everyone shield their eyes and tremble in fear at what they were feeling.

A malevolent aura engulfed the entire guild; slowly, they could see the blond's figure in the green vortex which was slowly dying out, or being subdued. When they could clearly see the blond they took a step back in shock or fear, before them it didn't look like the blond was standing, the man before the emanated a dark aura beyond comprehension.

His armor was gone, replaced with a ripped black robe compete with a black cowl, his hands were half covered by damaged plate gauntlets and it looked like the skin and flesh from his hands were gone as instead of normal fingers coming out of the gauntlet there were skeletal fingers. In his hand was his sword, covered in the malevolent green aura taking the shape of a scythe, green tendrils moved all around the blond.

Raising his sword up the blond swiped it towards the barrier, the scythe connecting with it and making sparks and bolts of lighting shoot in all directions as the two battled over control.

"_You won't stand in my way anymore!"_ the blond howled in a ghostly voice as the barrier cracked, vanishing and opening a path towards the town.

"_I hope you are ready for this scum…"_ the blond whispered while walking forward, his hands reverting back to normal and the strange power returning in his body "…cause I will show you no mercy." He finished in his normal voice, his armor reappearing on his body as he vanished in the town to search for his prey.

* * *

**Note: Sorry for short chapter, sorry for any errors that might appear in the story.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chater 13**

Freed looked up with interest as he felt the barrier he placed in the guild shatter, someone had destroyed it using brute force, that much he was certain about. The questioned remained, who was powerful enough to shatter his barrier? He knew that the guild master, as strong as he was, wouldn't be able to break barriers – or at least his –, Natsu might be strong but not that strong, Lisanna had no knowledge about barriers and seals and then there was Gajeel, he doubted that even that dragonslayer could do anything about the barrier.

His eyes then widened as he remembered the mysterious member, Naruto if he remembered right. They knew next to nothing about him, what magic he had, how strong he was. Before returning to the guild he had made sure to check the members files, the only thing that said about Naruto was that he was a retired knight of castle Kimos. Nothing more and nothing less.

This intrigued him at first, but didn't dwell on it for too much. Laxus had told him that the boy was of no importance, a reject of a knight joining a guild at such an age, he would most likely be at a lower level than the new girl, Lucy.

Because of that he did no background check on the blond, he didn't try to figure out what made him leave the castle, why join the guild – and this one in particular – and why the master allowed him to join.

A smirk appeared on his face as he looked towards the guild. "Uzumaki Naruto…I wonder…" the mage mumbled to himself as he began to set up the stage for their meeting.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

His eyes scanned the area around him, there wasn't anyone around to witness his power. Ever since this all started he had felt the desire to unleash everything he had been holding up until this point. The mage didn't know why, but seeing Mirajane in that state made him angrier than he would have thought. To him it didn't matter anymore if someone saw his power, if someone pointed a finger towards him and said anything, the council knew who he was, there was no point in hiding anymore, he could go all out.

He felt a bit scared thinking of what the guild might say, but that was subdued by his rage for the lighting user. The image of those lighting bolts hitting next to Mirajane's frozen frame made him want to press forward, to give that little pest a piece of his mind.

Coming to a halt he looked around, there was no one in the vicinity, he moved his hand in front of him as his power erupted around his hand, expanding to his right and left and encompassing the shadows around him. Numerous eyes opened, staring back at the blond as figures made out of black smoke emerged from the shadows, he looked at them, the knowledge of what they are and what they do appearing in his mind as if he had known about them forever.

"Naruto!" his head snapped in the direction of the sound as he saw Erza approaching him. The girl stopped a few feet away from him as she noticed the strange figures around the blond and the aura circling around his hand. She shook her head however remembering what the master had told her, she ignored what she saw in front of her concentrating only on the blond's face. "What are you doing?" she questioned.

He didn't answer at first, instead he turned to face her as he lowered his hand. "I'm searching for that bastard, I'll make him pay for what he did." He growled, his power taking form and appearing at his feet, circling him and rotting the ground underneath his feet.

Once more she found herself staring at his power, unable to avert her eyes. Despite the fact that the same malevolent aura from before was still circling the retired knight, the mage before her was not the same mage that faced Gerard in the tower; even though his power seemed to be going haywire at a certain level it looked like he was controlling it and keeping his sanity in check, but that was still something she wasn't sure of.

"And what will you do once you find him?" she questioned the blond looking back into his eyes, narrowing her own, setting her authority over him as his superior.

Naruto just scoffed. "I'll kill him." Was the reply he gave her making the red head's eyes widen slightly and unconsciously take a step back as she remembered when he killed in the tower.

Steeling herself she glared towards him. "So you are going to kill the master's grandson?" she questioned as his aura seemed to fade away for a little bit, that seemed to have made him think about his decision to kill. "And even so, are you alright with killing people? Have you forgotten about the tower? You yourself told me that you didn't want to kill him!" she argued.

The mage before her shook his head however. "That person did nothing wrong, I killed an innocent there, this one however…" he paused as he looked to the ground clenching his fists. "This one is harming the guild, hurting the people that helped me…" he whispered taking Erza by surprise, she had to admit that his reasons were not what she had expected.

"Even so…Fairy Tail is not about killing, you can't go around killing someone, I won't allow it! No matter what they did I won't allow you to soil your hands with blood! Not anymore!" she shouted taking several steps forward until she was mere inches away from the blond.

As he looked up and stared at her she felt like she wanted to shiver, his eyes were a mix between blue and green, it didn't help that they seemed emanate some sort of green glow from time to time and the fact that it was like he was ripping your soul from your body just by staring in your eyes.

Despite all that she continued to glare towards the blond as she spoke up. "Do you think Mira would like it if she heard that you killed someone? Especially someone that belongs or belonged to the guild?" she questioned as the aura around the mage vanished slightly once more, he even averted his eyes and turned his head towards the ground, thinking about what she just told him.

After several minutes Naruto turned around, with his back at her. "If I find him I'll beat him so hard he'll beg for mercy." He mumbled as he extended his arm forward, pointing down the road. _"Find him."_ The blond ordered in a hollow voice as the shadowy figures moved towards the buildings or the shadows to be more specific and began moving at great speed in all directions, vanishing in mere seconds.

Erza watched with interest at what happened, a small smile appearing on her face as the man seemed to have changed his goal. If there was one thing she didn't want to see anymore it was unnecessary killing, or killing in general. The blond had killed most likely in his time with the Royal Guard but that didn't mean his trend needed to continue, it didn't mean that he still had to soil his hands.

"Let's split up, we can cover more ground that way." She told Naruto who nodded in return. With a smile Erza looked at him one last time before turning away and running in a different direction with the intent of finding her targets.

Naruto watched her vanish from his sight, he watched her with interest. Even though she had witnessed his power, even though she had witnessed the little bit he could do she wasn't afraid of him. While a bit of fear and skepticism was still there she didn't avert her eyes, she didn't turn away but instead walked forward.

That alone told him that there was no point in hiding it anymore, if someone like her could overcome her fear to accept what he was and who he was then maybe it was worth giving it a shot. With a grin he began walking forward, listening to the words of his summons as they told him the layout of the town, where the fallen guild members were and to his surprise where one of the battles was taking place.

He was even more surprised when they told him that Erza had engaged with one of the traitors already. That was fast, he hadn't expected her to find one of them so fast.

Suddenly he felt one of his summons die, it had walked into a rune that killed it and before it died it told him of another traitor's location. With a grin the blond walked forward, towards the man's location.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Freed was surprised, one of his traps had been sprung yet when he checked there was no one there. He was sure that if someone had sprung the trap by stepping into it they would have been laying on the ground trying to get up or unconscious. This was interesting; maybe there was another mage like him here that could set off trap from a distance.

It couldn't be Levy, that's for sure; she had been turned to stone.

His question was answered however when the blond appeared from around the corner, turning to face him. A smirk formed on Freed's face, so this mage must have been the one that set off his trap, he would have to change his course of action a little bit.

The man studied his opponent with interest, the mage named Naruto was an interesting fellow, from here he could sense a great deal of magic power coming from him. The ex-knight wasn't trying to hide it, that or he had very little control over it seeing how it raged around him. But the again, Natsu's power showed similar traits when he was _fired up_ as he would put it. If this newcomer was also a dragonslayer that would be interesting, but Freed highly doubted it.

He couldn't actually put his finger on it but he was certain that the power this man held was different than that of dragonslayers and at the same time was more dangerous. But that didn't stop him, for his leader he would do anything, fight anyone and face any odds.

They stood watching each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Their battle turned into a staring battle, each one of them was patient, waiting for the other to strike.

"You've come all this way to stare at me?" Freed questioned having enough of their little match, he tried to rile up the blond, to make him walk into his trap.

With a smirk Naruto replied. "And what if I did?" he questioned as the man before him returned the smirk, not letting the strange mage get the better of him.

"Hm…" he replied while studying him "…a mage with a weak background, seemingly allowed to join us because the master had too much of a soft spot. It's just like Laxus said."

The blond narrowed his eyes at that as he took a step forward, making the green haired mage grin slightly. "You can insult me as much as you wish, but leave the old man out of it." He replied with narrowed eyes as he stopped a few feet away from a rune.

Freed watched with interest, either he knew where the rune was or luck had been on his side when he stopped just mere inches from springing the trap. But that didn't stop him, with a grin he continued taunting the man before him, it seemed like the blond was easily riled up, just like Natsu.

"Oh? I hit a sore spot? That old fart really knows how to take the weakest of the weakest and add them to this pathetic guild." A growl escaped Naruto's lips as he glared towards the man, yet didn't move forward.

The mage raised an eyebrow, so it was a bit different like Natsu, taunting him and his abilities wouldn't rile him up that good. But then again, he said so himself, he could taunt the blond as much as he wanted but he wouldn't get anywhere fast.

He was brought out of his musing however when a strange purple flame appeared in the mage's right hand. "You talk too much." He whispered as he hurled a fireball towards Freed who jumped backwards avoiding the attack.

Freed watched with surprise as purple smoke rose from the ground where he once stood yet no visible damage had been done to the ground, it was like the fireball didn't have any destructive properties, but what exactly it had he didn't know. This magic was something he had never seen in his entire life, at certain points he could see runes appearing in the blond's spell but they vanished so fast that he didn't have time to analyze them.

Once more he was brought out of his musing as another fireball came towards him, this time he jumped to the side as the fireball hit the tree behind him. Curious, he turned his head slightly to watch the damage done to the tree. He was shocked to see the tree whiter away, dying at a rapid pace. Looking back at his opponent he came to realize that the fireball most likely sucked the life out of any living thing.

He growled, the mage before him was pretty calm, thinking rationally and using long range attacks on him. "Why don't you come and face me coward?" the mage shouted as his opponent simply tilted his head to the side.

"And step in your runes? I'll take my chances from this distance." He replied making Freed's eyes widen, he could see the traps he had set? That had never happened before, there was obviously more to this mage than he thought.

With a scowl he activated his **Dark Ecriture** and stared at the blond with his now changed eye. His opponent took a step back in shock as he saw the eye, most likely he had never seen something like it before, this made Freed smirk as he raised his hand and began writing runes in front of him, in the air. Moments later the runes glowed and a purple beam shot towards Naruto who raised his sword in front of him taking the blast head on.

A small explosion encompassed the area lifting dust in the air and blocking the mage's view of his opponent. In mere seconds however his opponent burst through the dust, side-stepping the rune on the ground and charging forward with his sword ready to strike. With narrowed eyes the green haired mage teleported away before the blond managed to cut him down, he appeared a few meters away from where he once stood.

Naruto watched as his enemy appeared on the bridge, numerous runes were blocking his way to him, the only way to ever reach him would be to fly. A smirk appeared on his opponents face making him narrow his eyes, he looked down at his feet and his eyes widened as he saw he had stepped in a rune he hadn't seen before.

"One thing you don't know about me is that I can make runes on the fly…" Freed told the blond, snapping his fingers. "…just like that."

A curse escaped the knight's lips as he began to study the rune, trying to find a way out of it. But he knew next to nothing about things like this, he looked back up at the man and raised his hand to fire another fireball only to realize that nothing was happening, he couldn't summon his powers anymore despite the fact that they were raging at his feet.

A smirk appeared on the mage's face as he saw his opponent look at his hand in surprise. Then the blond mage looked up as he saw writing appearing in front of him. _Rule: No ranged magic attacks are allowed._

Naruto cursed, the only way out of this was to leave the trap and most likely step on another rune. On all sides he could see runes; he had been trapped without even realizing it. He really wished that he could fly at this point.

His eyes then widened as a smirk appeared on his face and called for his powers, Freed watched with surprise as skeletal hands shot from the ground and a total of ten skeletons pulled themselves out of the ground. This was going to complicate his plans unless he acted fast. He saw the mage point towards him as the skeletons charged forward, stepping out of the rune and activating the first one.

_Rule: The air will be sucked out of the person's lungs. _

Even though the rune had been activated by the skeleton nothing happened to it, the skeleton continued marching forward stepping on the second rune.

_Rule: The target stepping on the rune will be burned to death._

Fire burst from the ground encompassing the skeleton that had stepped on the rune and turning its bones to dust. The rest continued their march stepping on the third rune.

_Rule: Leaving this enchantment will result in the death of the perpetrator. _

Two skeletons stepped out at the same time and both of them shattered, falling on the ground and a pile of bones while the rest continued their march, stepping on the fourth rune.

_Rule: Those that enter this enchantment will be teleported fifty feet back._

Five skeletons were caught in the rune and they all vanished from their sight only to appear several feet behind the blond in another rune.

_Rule: If you were teleported into this enchantment you will turn to dust._

The five skeletons immediately shattered, their bones turning to dust and vanishing.

Only three more were left, they continued their march towards Freed stepping in the final rune.

_Rule: Stepping into this enchantment will render your body useless, you will not be able to move any further._

The skeletons stopped dead in their tracks, unmoving, staring at their opponent in front of them. The mage had to admit it was frightening seeing a bunch of bones staring at him with such hollow … eyes.

He looked up at the blond as he stepped out of the enchantment, his path towards him was now clear, there were no more traps left. Freed cursed slightly, if he had done some background check on him then he would have known from the start what he was up against. He had to admit that this was not what he had expected, this power that the mage before him displayed was out of this world, so strange and so powerful that…

His eyes widened at that, a powerful mage was in the guild, someone that could pose a danger to Laxus and his plans. He stared at the blond, this man was not to be taken lightly, he was a danger and unless dealt with he would only pose a problem for his leader.

However, he needed to make the man lose concentration, he needed him to fight blindly. Then he remembered what he said, how he acted when the girls had been turned to stone, he remembered how the mage charged in fury at the sigh of Mirajane being turned to stone.

A smirk formed on his lips as he looked towards his opponent. "You know, this is getting pretty boring." He told the blond as he looked towards his fingernails. "You aren't that strong, I wonder, if I shatter Mirajane what would happen…" Freed mused.

Naruto's eyes widened at that. "Don't you dare touch her." He growled, a sinister grin appearing on Freed's face.

He lifted his hand up in the air as he snapped his fingers. "Poof goes the statue…" he laughed as the blond froze, trembling in fright.

"Do you really think I'd believe that?" he laughed, trying to keep his cool.

"Oh? Why don't you go and sweep her dust then? See for yourself? Come on, I will allow it." Freed taunted as he wrote several runes in front of him, in mere seconds the runes behind Naruto vanished to allow him to return to the guild.

His eyes widened at that, unable to contain his fear and rage anymore.

Was the man trying to rile him up or did he really destroy Mirajane's statue? He couldn't think anymore, the sole thought of her dying and him not being able to do anything made him see red in front of his eyes. It hurt his head, it hurt his chest, he couldn't think anymore, he knew just one thing. The man before him had to be taken down.

With a shout of fury the blond charged forward making his opponent smirk in victory. His smirk vanished however as soon as the knight vanish from his sight only to appear in front of him, his sword mere inches away from his neck.

Freed ducked as fast as he could and jumped backwards, he pulled out his sword and dodged as the blond's sword came crashing down in the ground where he once stood. Before he could react his fist connected with his face sending him flying away towards the center of the bridge.

The green haired mage shook his head as he looked up towards the blond with a glare in his eyes. He raised his sword up and began writing runes. Numerous beams shot towards his opponent who rushed forward cutting the attacks and making small explosions, nothing seemed to stop him.

Thinking fast the mage jumped back as the blond stepped into a rune. _Rule: The one that enters this enchantment will be teleported back at the end of the bridge._ Naruto vanished from sight only to appear back from where he had started.

Freed allowed a sigh to escape his lips, he hadn't realized he was holding it in. Looking up towards the man he scowled as he saw him charging forward once more.

"This is getting annoying." He mumbled as he raised his sword up and waited.

In mere seconds the mage was in front of him and slashed his sword sideways making his opponent jump up as he began writing runes on the blond's body. "**Dark Ecriture: Pain**" he said as the mage's eyes widened, he shouted in pain as he felt like a thousand needles entering his body. "**Pain**" Freed said once again as he howled. "**Pain**" he said for the third time making Naruto crash on the ground, yelling and panting.

Freed looked down at the blond, to think that he would be defeated so easily. His eyes widened however as the man suddenly grabbed his leg and pulled, making him fall on the ground. Before he could react the mage appeared in front of him, grabbing his face and lifting his head up, seconds later he slammed his head on the pavement with such force that Freed believed his skull was going to crack.

With all his strength, Freed lifted his sword and wrote another set of runes on the blond. "**Dark Ecriture: Fear**" the mage said as the grip on his face faded, the knight shouted in horror as he grabbed his head and pulled back, twitching.

The green haired mage shook his head as he jumped back up on his feet. He coughed several times, spitting blood. With anger in his eyes he looked up towards the blond as he began to calm down.

Naruto charged forward again, this time however two skeletal heads surrounded by a green aura appeared next to him, they shot forward towards Freed. His eyes widened as he jumped back and wrote runes in the air in front of them. "**Dark Ecriture: Explosion**" he called out as the air in front of the first skull exploded taking it down.

The second skull appeared from the smoke with Naruto tailing right behind it. He ducked under the magical attack and side stepped the blond's sword, his eyes widened however as his opponent managed to grab his arm and pull him.

Before he was thrown away he noticed his arm catching fire and his hand loosing its skin. He began to feel his life being sucked away. This was bad, the mage was dangerous, he needed to keep his distance from him.

As he crashed on the ground again he noticed the skull from before appearing in front of him. Before he could react the skull entered his body; immense pain coursed through his body, he twitched and turned as he felt like his insides were being burned. If he hadn't noticed the blond moving towards him he would have succumbed to the pain and fallen unconscious. Seeing the mage however made him stand back up and prepare his next attack.

"You are far too dangerous to be left alone, to be left to live." He spat out, he was bleeding from his mouth, his nose and his ears. It looked like he was at his limit, the blond however couldn't be read. That helmet blocked his view, he couldn't see if the blond was faring any better, but it didn't matter anymore at this point. He was going to end it.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Mirajane was scared, she had found her brother not long ago all bruised up and at the end of his powers, she had learned from her sister that the blond was going to kill Laxus and anyone that followed him. She couldn't bare the thought of him killing, she couldn't let him take another life and suffer again like he did after the incident in the tower.

She looked towards her brother as he held onto her, limping as they walked and searched from Naruto. An explosion drew their attention; they looked for its source and walked towards it. In mere seconds they reached a bridge, both of them felt like a battle was raging on top of it.

Before they could begin to climb up and see who was fighting the bridge crumbled, two bodies falling on the ground. Their eyes widened as they saw both Naruto and Freed fighting, Naruto on top of the green haired mage holding him by the neck while the other was trying to finish writing runes on the blond. Mirajane's eyes widened at the scene.

"Naruto! Don't kill him!" she shouted grabbing his attention away from his prey. The knight's grip lessened a bit as he saw Mirajane, the red before his eyes vanishing as he felt his heart beat faster. She was alive, she was safe.

The moment his grip lessened Freed acted, he finished the last set of runes on the blond's chest. "**Dark Ecriture: Death**" he growled out as Mirajane's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" she shouted as Naruto's grip failed and his body crashed down on top of Freed.

The mage gasped as he pushed the body off him. He staggered back up on his feet as he heard someone crash on the ground, he turned towards the sound and saw Mirajane staring with horror in her eyes at the lifeless body of the blond mage, tears forming in her eyes as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You…bastard…" Elfman growled towards Freed who stood up straight and glared back at the man. "…I'll make you pay for this!" he shouted preparing to attack.

Before he could act however they felt a massive power bursting from the supposedly deceased mage; Freed turned and watched in horror as the blond slowly began to rise, a massive skull forming above him. It seemed to be laughing at them as the man stood back up, as his sword materialized in his hand. A green aura formed around the sword giving it the shape of a deadly scythe, his armor vanishing and getting turned into a dark robe, his gauntlets shattering revealing skeletal hands.

The mage turned to face his enemy as he took a step forward, the ground underneath him dying instantly, leaving a scorched mark in its wake.

"_To think I had to resort to this…"_ they heard Naruto mumble in a ghostly voice while he continued walking towards Freed.

The mage shivered as he took several steps back. "What the hell are you?" he shouted as he prepared to draw more runes.

His enemy stopped for a few seconds as if pondering on the question, he then looked towards him, in his eyes and replied. _"Someone you just pissed off."_ Was the reply in the same ghostly voice.

With a shout Freed created several runes that started firing towards the blond who used his scythe to cut them in half, making the beams disperse. Freed was now shaking, the level of power this man showed was beyond imagination now, he would stand no chance against him now.

The mage continued walking forward until he was but a few feet away from his enemy; he stared at him and then shoved his sword in the ground. He took a step forward and cracked his knuckles, something everyone found frightening considering they could see his bones. _"Back in my day, before joining the old army, we used to deal with punks like you with our fists…"_ he started as his gauntlets started reforming, the robe vanishing, replaced by his armor. "…and you deserve one hell of a beating!" the blond shouted as his entire armor reappeared on him and delivered a punch in Freed's face, making his fly backwards.

With a groan the green haired mage stood back up on his feet as he turned to face Naruto, only to come face to face with another fist that sent him back down on the ground. Before he could even open his eyes he felt his opponent grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up, in mere seconds he couldn't feel the ground underneath his feet.

Opening his eyes he looked down and widened them as he found himself up in the air, he looked up and saw his enemy crashing down towards him, his foot connecting with his face sending him directly in the ground at high speed, the impact creating a small crater as dust covered the entire area.

Naruto landed back on the ground just a few feet away from the crater and waited for his opponent to make a move, he was more than sure that Freed was at his limit and would crash any moment now, there was no point in rushing in for the _win_.

Just as he expected the traitor emerged from the dust, only this time he looked different, he looked demonic. This shocked the blond as he turned towards Mirajane wanting to see if she knew anything about it yet the girl was just as shocked.

"I didn't think I'd have to resort to another forbidden spell…" they heard Freed talk as Naruto turned to face him. "…**Dark Ecriture: Darkness**, just like Mirajane's **Satan Soul**" he told the blond with a grin making him frown.

Without a warning Freed charged forward with amazing speed, his opponent only looked at him before raising his hand in front of him. "Halt." He ordered. Freed didn't know what happened, one moment he had complete control over his body and the next he couldn't control it anymore, when the blond spoke that word he stopped and no matter how hard he tried to move his body wouldn't listen to his orders.

"I pity you…" he heard the mage say as he looked up in shock. "…to resort to such a technique, I thought that being a mage of Fairy Tail would make you realize that there are certain roads you should not walk." He told the green haired mage who only narrowed his eyes at him.

"And what do you know? What makes you so high and mighty to speak about Fairy Tail like this? You know nothing of the guild!"

Naruto said nothing as he walked forward, stopping in front of his opponent. "You are right, I haven't been here that long to know everything about the guild. But if there is one thing I know is that in this guild friends don't go against friends, they especially don't try to kill one another." He growled as he punched the man as hard as he could, sending him flying in the remains of the bridge.

"This fight is now over." He mumbled as he turned around and began walking away.

Mirajane shook herself from her shock as she ran towards the blond; the girl grabbed his hand making him stop and look at her. He then turned to face her and grabbed her in a hug, holding the girl close to his body and making her eyes widen at his action.

"I'm glad you're alright…" he told her as he pulled away, she smiled at him moving closer and placing her head on his chest.

"You scared me back there, I really thought you died…" she mumbled while moving closer.

Naruto gave her a weak smile as he moved his hand through her hair. "I would have if I hadn't heard him call out the spell…" he chuckled, either Freed had been very confident that he wouldn't react in time or he hadn't just realized he was saying his spells each time he used them.

They heard a groan and watched as Freed tried to pull himself up only to fail miserably, his power had left him, he was down for the count now. With a smile Naruto looked at the girl in his arms. "Can you take care of him? I have some unfinished business with the one that hurt you."

Mirajane blushed as she looked up at him and nodded with a sweet smile. She pulled back allowing him to move away. "Be careful and … try not to kill him." She said with a small giggle while wiping away her tears.

The knight nodded as he turned around and started walking away, one of his shadows had told him where the target was. It was time to end this farce.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Natsu coughed as he tried to get up. "I'll handle Luxus…" he panted while gritting his teeth. "…you stay back…" he continued as the dragonslayer next to him didn't even spare him a glace and continued to look towards the traitor in front of him.

"I have a personal grudge I need to settle with this guy." He said as he analyzed the man in front of him. "We may not like it but we have to work together to take him down, he is Makarov's own flesh and blood after all."

Natsu's eyes widened at that, he hadn't planned on working with this guy, not in a million years. "Screw that crap! I'll take him out myself!" he shouted.

"If anyone is taking him out by himself it would be me…" a third voice resonated through the cathedral as a pair of steps echoed from behind them. They turned their heads and widened their eyes as they saw who it was.

"Oh ho ho! Who do we have here? The wannabe mage?" Luxus yelled out with amusement in his voice as he saw the blond walk inside the cathedral.

Said blond ignored his taunting as he looked towards both dragonslayers. "I am at my limit, you Natsu are at your limit and Gajeel cannot take him down by himself…" he then looked up at the man in front of him and glared. "…so we work together and take him down."

His magic flared up around him making the ground underneath his feet crack. Natsu grinned as he too turned towards Luxus and stood back up with renewed strength while Gajeel nodded and turned to face the traitor.

With a grin the blond placed his hands on the ground as his power moved towards them and entered the ground underneath him. A few feet in front of them a large pair of green hands shot out of the ground and moved towards Luxus whose eyes widened at the sight.

The man jumped backwards avoiding the attack. "Go!" he heard Naruto shout as both Natsu and Gajeel charged forward reaching him in mere seconds. They both unleashed a flurry of attacks, throwing punches and kicks towards the lighting mage as he effortlessly parried and dodged their attacks.

He smirked as he prepared to use his magic against one of the dragonslayers, his smirk however vanished as he saw one of the hands approaching from the side. Jumping out of the way he managed to avoid the attack only to be caught in another one, this time he had no time to react as the second hand grabbed him and threw him towards one of the pillars.

The man crashed in the pillar taking it down, the two dragonslayers charged forward once more not giving their enemy any time to react. Natsu was the first to reach him, as he was about to hit his opponent a palm connected with his chest and then a surge of power blew him away.

His body connected with Gajeel who leaned down slightly, grabbing his teammate and turning with him until the pink haired boy was facing Luxus once again, he took a deep breath before breathing out a long line of fire which turned into a fireball that raced towards its target with Gajeel turning his hand into a metal sword as he charged forward together with the fireball.

Luxus narrowed his eyes as he jumped up and moved his hands in front of him and fired several small projectiles towards the fireball, as they connected they created a small explosion which blew Gajeel away. His eyes then narrowed further as he felt Natsu appearing behind him, before he could react the boy spat out another fireball which connected with his back sending him flying towards the ground.

Out of the smoke Gejeel came rushing out, the two pair of hands in front of him had protected him front the blast, the boy's hand had been morphed into a lance as he jumped up towards Luxus and unleashed a flurry of attacks.

As the body crashed on the ground Naruto stood back up and created a circle in the air with his hands. He then placed them in the middle of the imaginary circle and thrust them forward. A purple beam shot out of his palms towards Luxus as both Gajeel and Natsu unleashed their own variation of the **Dragon's Roar**.

All three attacks connected with their target at the same time creating an explosion which shook the cathedral.

They stood watching as the smoke cleared, to their shock a figure appeared in the smoke, it was none other than Luxus. "Impossible…" Gajeel mumbled, no one would be able to stand up after those attacks, especially Naruto's. He had felt the blond mage put a lot of his magic into that attack.

Luxus merely grinned as he showed his teeth, his canines began to elongate as Natsu and Gajeel gasped at what they were seeing.

Before their very eyes Luxus gathered a large amount of magic and unleashed it in a powerful blast, the two dragonslayers had no time to jump out of the way, the attack connected with them and made its way towards Naruto who narrowed his eyes. He vanished from his spot moments before the attack could connect with him, only to appear between the two fellow mages.

"One escaped…are you two still alive?" Luxus questioned as the mages tried to move their bodies.

"I…can't move…" Natsu gasped out making their enemy smirk.

"Don't worry, I'll finish this fast." Luxus replied while turning towards the knight.

Naruto growled as he charged forward, his sword materializing in his hands as he appeared in front of the lighting mage. He swiped with his sword in front of him, intent on dealing damage to his target. To his surprise the mage caught the sword effortlessly and grinned towards the blond.

"Is that all?" he questioned as lighting traversed through the blade and into the blond, making him scream in pain. Moments later a fist connected with the mage sending him flying away and crashing into a pillar taking it down with him.

Shaking his head Naruto jumped back on his feet and then ducked as a lighting bolt nearly took him out. He extended his hands to the side as two green fireballs appeared in each palm, he hurled them one at a time towards the mage, creating more and more.

For his opponent dodging the attacks proved hard, the strange mage knew where to throw him, he anticipated every move. From time to time a fireball would scratch him and he'd feel intense pain, the fire from them seemed to be stronger than what Natsu could create and deadlier.

Luxus growled in annoyance as he saw another set of fireballs racing towards him, he created two lighting spears and hurled them towards them, as they connected the attacks canceled each other out. His eyes widened in surprise however as a spear suddenly appeared in front of him, connecting with his body and exploding upon contact.

However, instead of being hurled away from the explosion chains appeared all around his body, they tightened around him and pulled him down towards the ground. It took all his might to stay up, the chains felt incredibly heavy and it didn't help that they seemed to be constricting his entire body and sucking the life out of him.

He then felt another attack approaching him, looking up he saw the armored mage appearing in front of him with his fist drawn back – a green flame surrounding it –, ready to strike. "This is for hurting Mirajane!" he shouted as he punched the man as hard as he could and sending him away, crashing in the wall in the far back.

Naruto panted as he tried to stand up, he had reached his limit. Even though he felt like his power supply was endless his body was not made up to withstand that much power at such short intervals, it was like he had been overusing Kyuubi's power all this time.

His musings came to an end as he felt a large concentration of power approaching him at an alarming rate. Before he could react a lighting halberd connected with him. His voice left him as he was thrown back with such force that he vanished from inside the cathedral only to appear outside crashing in a building and leaving a large crater in its wall.

The blond slowly dropped on the ground, face first and unable to move anymore. While his consciousness hadn't left him and he could still see and hear what was happening around him his body had shut down, even his power had vanished, receding back into the depths of his body.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips; it was up to Natsu and Gajeel to defeat that bastard now. Last he saw them they were starting to stand up again.

Once more he felt a large concentration of power approaching him; with wide eyes he looked in front of him towards the cathedral as a massive light expanded towards him. _"Oh shit."_ He thought as he closed his eyes while the light consumed him.

Yet he felt nothing, he felt no pain whatsoever. Did he die? Was the attack so powerful that it killed him instantly and painlessly? He opened his eyes and looked around, he was still in the town, the cathedral was still there, damaged like before, he still couldn't move his body and he still felt his power moving around somewhere deep down.

That attack did nothing? A laugh escaped his lips, if there was one thing he had never expected that would have been to have luck on his side after so many years. He laughed for a good few minutes before his eyes closed and he fell unconscious, unaware of what the outcome of the battle would be.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Naruto mentally groaned as his senses started to return to him. He heard water splashing in a pot – or so he assumed – and then a cold towel being placed on his forehead. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared at the person besides him, the girl gasped as she moved towards him and grabbed him a hug. "Naruto, you're alright!" she shouted, the blond however yelped in pain as the girl gasped and pulled away. "I'm so sorry." She apologized, a blush forming on her face in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it Lisanna…" he mumbled with a weak smile as he sighed and closed his eyes. "…how long was I out?" he questioned.

"About three days." The girl replied making his eyes snap open and stare at her. "You missed the festival." She laughed silently as the blond snorted uncharacteristically, that was the least of his worries.

"What happened?" he questioned curiously, he wondered who won the battle, what happened to the bastard that defeated him and to the two dragonslayers.

"Ah…" the girl took a thinking pose as she began retelling the events that transpired a few days ago. In the end it seemed like the combo of Natsu and Gajeel had defeated the rogue mage putting an end to the entire battle.

With a sigh the blond closed his eyes, resting them. For some reason he still felt weak. "Also…" Lisanna started again. "…Porlyusica looked over you as well, she said you won't be able to use your magic for at least a weak." He turned towards her and raised an eyebrow not understanding what that person meant. "I don't understand why myself." She said with a sigh.

He nodded at that, he did force his powers to the extreme, until the moment he felt his sanity slipping away. It had been at an arms reach, he could feel his sanity leaving at the end of the battle with Freed and during the battle with Luxus. It felt nostalgic, like the times he fought using the demon's power, worrying about ever loosing control and having the demon take over.

With a scowl he burned away those thoughts, how could he feel nostalgic about something like that? Maybe about battles and how he used to fight, but for that kind of _'thrill'_, that was just unreal.

It didn't take long before Lisanna left to change the water and call for Mirajane, apparently she had been very worried about his well-being and tended to the majority of his wounds when he had been brought back. A small smile appeared on his face, he never thought that he would feel accepted in a place like this with the power he possessed, but then again, these guys were as strange as they could get.

"I see you woke up…" he heard someone speak, recognizing the voice he opened his eyes and turned his head towards the door where Luxus stood. The man looked at him with his arms crossed over his chest. "…the old man allowed me to come here one last time so we can talk before I leave."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "I have been excommunicated." The man said as if sensing the blond's confusion.

That much he had suspected, what he did was unforgivable, even for someone that was blood related to the master of the guild. "So what did you want to talk about?" the knight questioned "You are pretty high on my shit list, don't think I've forgotten what you tried to do to Mira." He growled out, yet the man didn't seem fazed by that.

"Your power is … interesting." Luxus suddenly spoke. "From what Freed told me, if we had met first and fought the outcome would have been in your favor most likely." He spoke, a hint of admiration in his voice, something that made the blond curious.

"You came to tell me just this?" he questioned not believing what he had just heard.

The man however shook his head. "I came to tell you that the fight between us is not over, in the future, if we meet again, I'd like to fight you. One on one." He told the blond with narrowed eyes as he himself narrowed his eyes towards the fellow blond. "A fair battle this time." Luxus finished with a small grin, different from the ones before, as he turned around and walked out of the infirmary, leaving the knight alone to think.

Naruto scoffed slightly, he hadn't expected to hear something like that from someone he had wanted to kill just a few days ago. And the fact that he remained here after being banished for three days, just to tell him that… that was even more surprising.

Once more the door opened, this time revealing Mirajane with a large smile on her face. She rushed inside jumping towards the mage whose eyes widened in horror. Inwardly he yelped in pain, on the outside he did his best not to yell and gave a weak smile towards the girl that was hugging the life out of him.

"Mira-chan…" he gasped, she pulled back slightly and widened her eyes as she unwrapped herself from his frame, sitting down next to his bed. Like her sister, a small blush formed on her cheeks from embarrassment.

"Sorry about that, I was just so happy to know that you are safe." She told the blond who smiled happily.

He merely shook his head as he spoke. "Don't worry about it, I did worry you … again." He laughed as the girl giggled slightly before looking at him with a small blush on her cheeks.

"You know…Lisanna told me how frightened your were about my wellbeing." She said putting her finger on her lips and looking towards the blond. Together with the blush she looked incredibly cute, the knight couldn't look away from her. "It made me happy to hear you were worried about me."

It was now Naruto's turn to blush as he averted his eyes. "Ah it was nothing, you are my friend…" he said, his voice going down several octaves with each word he uttered.

Mirajane however just shook her head as she placed her hand over his. "You saved me three times already and I have yet to repay you for any of those." She told him as the blond looked at her curiously. "You saved me back when we first met, then you saved me in the resort and now you saved me again." She giggled slightly "It seems you have a knack for saving a damsel in distress." The girl finished winking towards the injured mage who chuckled at what she said.

"Anyone would have done it." He told her, but once again she just shook her head as she stared in his eyes.

"Only a _'knight is shinning armor'_ would have appeared to save me the first time and then continue to reappear." She said as the man before her blushed and looked away making her giggle. Mirajane hadn't expected him to have such a side.

For a few minutes they stood in silence, Mirajane looking at him and the blond looking at the ceiling, from time to time glancing towards the girl.

She found it cute how he would glance towards her, not keeping eye contact. For a second her smile faded as she remembered something, while he had been out cold someone else had visited him and she had learned a bit more about the knight; a small piece of information that she would always keep in mind.

As she looked towards the man her smile reappeared, the girl brought her hand up to her hair and moved it behind her as she bent forward drawing his attention.

"Let me thank you properly this time." She whispered as she leaned forward and placed her lips on his. The blond's eyes widened as he registered what was happening, he felt her soft lips touching his and his mind had completely shut down.

Their kiss lasted for a few seconds before Mirajane pulled back slightly, smiling as she looked into his eyes. "Don't ever _die_." She told him giving him a second kiss.

Finally, the girl pulled back and stood up as Naruto looked towards her, unable to utter a single word. Mirajane's smile never vanished as she told him to get well soon and left the infirmary, leaving the blond alone to his thoughts.

It took several minutes before he overcame his shock. While those hadn't been his first or second kiss it was something that he had never expected to happen. A peck on the cheek? Yes, that much he had expected from the hints Mirajane had been giving him lately.

Slowly, Naruto moved his hand to his lips and touched them; unconsciously he felt her lips on his once more as he started to blush. Who would have thought that the girl nicknamed the _Demon_, a girl that used to dress – from what her siblings had told him – like a goth and act coldly towards people had such a side to her and that she would take such a big step.

He however was unsure what to think of all this, his emotions had been turned in every possible way. The mage was happy to know that someone had such feelings for him, or at least he now suspected what her feelings for him were, but at the same time he was worried if fate would play another cruel trick on him. At the same time, he didn't feel chained down by the past, by what happened. It seemed like this battle had put him at ease with his past, that it made him accept who he was now and to adapt to whatever situation would present to him.

And because of that whatever fate had it store for him he was now prepared to face it. A smile creped on his face, if fate would spit in his face he would spit in its face; he decided that he should try to see where this thing with Mirajane would go. He'd lie if he said he wasn't interested in her as more than just a friend, than just a comrade.

He however needed to double his training so that what happened in the past would never actually happen anymore.

With a smile he turned to the side and succumbed to sleep, thinking about the white haired mage, a chuckle escaping his lips before falling into blissful sleep.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

When he woke up he felt like his strength had completely returned, he was able to stand back up once more and not feel any pain as he walked. Summoning his armor, minus the helmet, the mage walked out of the infirmary and made his way towards the guild's main room. There he found the vast majority of the members drinking, chatting and having a great time in general, like they always do. Everything seemed to have turned to normal.

He made his way towards the bar where he saw Mirajane handling several orders and talking with the guild master. The girl noticing him turned her head towards the blond and waved, he returned the wave with a smile as he continued walking forward, taking a seat at the bar in front of her and next to Makarov – who was sitting on the bar.

"I'm glad to see you're up and running once again." The old guild master said with a smile as the blond nodded.

"I've always been a fast healer…and I did have the best doctors anyone could ask for." He chuckled as Mirajane blushed slightly and leaned forward on the bar.

"What will you have Naruto?" she questioned as the blond merely shrugged.

"Don't feel like drinking, or eating…" he replied as he looked in her eyes. The mage blinked before smiling towards the man in front of her.

"If you say so." She said in a sing-song voice as she turned around and walked away to take another order. The knight watched her leave and kept staring at her as she moved from one client to another.

"I see you've developed a small crush on her." He heard Makarov say as his eyes widened and he quickly averted his eyes. He had forgotten that the guild leader was there next to him. The small man merely laughed at the blond's reaction and shook his had. "No need to be shy boy! Grab the little happiness you can find and cherish it till the end." He said with a small nod as he took a big gulp from the cup he was drinking from.

Naruto looked at him as his words rang into his mind, he then looked at the white haired girl, his smile reappearing.

"Naruto!" the man turned around as he saw Natsu appearing in front of him. "Fight me!" he shouted as his eyes began to gleam in anticipation.

Naruto just laughed at the boy in front of him before shaking his head. "Sorry Natsu, but I'm not allowed to fight for a week, or so someone called Porlyusica said."

The pink haired boy frowned slightly before crossing his hands in front of his chest. "But I want to fight you now…you're one of the only ones I've never fought here." He mumbled as he kicked an invisible pebble on the ground.

"Natsu! Don't bother Naruto, he's still recovering!" the pink haired mage froze in place as he heard Erza's voice, he laughed nervously as he moved next to the blond in a flash and placed his arm around him.

"Bother him? I was just having a friendly chat with him, yep." He nodded as the cat appeared next to him, on the blond's head. "Aye! He was just talking!" he exclaimed as well as Naruto looked up towards it. The cat looked down at him and gave him a peace sign making his tilt his head to the side in confusion, which in turn made Happy fall down from his head.

Erza however didn't buy it as she walked forward and started to berate Natsu about challenging people to fights when they were still recovering. He didn't hear much as people in the guild had taken notice of him the moment Erza called out Natsu's name and they started swarming him and bombarding him with questions.

He looked at everyone in surprise, they all wanted to know what kind of power he had, that the little they heard from Natsu and Gajeel didn't shed as much light as they wanted. The knight looked towards the guild master for help yet the man was stuffing his face with whatever beverage he had in that cup and completely ignoring everything that was happening around him.

Nothing came out of his mouth, he didn't know what to tell them or how to approach the subject. Everyone had so many questions, questions to which the answer might not be the one they would like to hear or at least the one that the blond wasn't sure he'd like them to hear.

Suddenly everyone moved to the side as the green haired mage the blond had fought appeared and told them to make way. Silence fell upon them as the man made his way towards the blond, stopping mere inches away from him and looking at him. The knight stared back at him waiting for the man to say something.

A sigh escaped Freed's lips as he closed his eyes. "For someone with such incredible powers you were incredibly hard to carry back." He said while shaking his head and placing his right palm over his face.

Naruto looked at the man before him dumbfounded, out of all the things he had expected the man to say or to ask this was not one of them. But then he processed what he just heard and raised an eyebrow, Freed had carried him back to the guild and into the infirmary? Now that he hadn't expected.

Seeing his confusion the man grinned. "Yes, I carried you all the way back…for my own reasons of course." He scoffed, not wanting the man that had defeated him to get the wrong impression.

"I see…" Naruto mumbled not sure how to reply to that. "Thanks…I guess…"

Freed nodded happily before he turned serious. "However, I want to know what that power of yours is." He said pointing towards the blond's chest. "I've seen strange powers but yours completely tops it."

Again he had no idea how to reply to that, he had pretty much expected Freed to demand something like that – or more like ask. He looked towards the guild master, this time he had been paying attention to what was going on around him, he gave the blond a small nod with a smile and returned to his drink.

Naruto sighed, so there was no point in hiding it anymore and if Makarov said it was alright to tell them then there shouldn't be a problem for him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to the side, he saw Erza there nodding towards him, encouraging him.

With a sigh he turned towards Freed and answered. "My power…it's a bit hard to explain." Everyone moved forward, interested to hear what the blond would say. "You could say I have the power to control death, or create death…" he paused and brought his hand up to his chin while he looked up towards the ceiling. "…and at the same time you could call it necromancy."

Silence fell upon them as the mage looked around, they were all thinking, some confused about what they heard some seemed to have understood a bit of what he said. He then looked towards Freed and noticed he had a look of understanding in his eyes.

"I see…that would explain that incredibly magic you used to survive my attack…and those summons." He nodded as he closed his eyes. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and pointed towards the blond with a serious face. "Truly you are nothing like master had said, you are a mage deserving of the S-class." He nearly shouted as everyone stared at him in shock while Makarov chocked on his drink.

"What are you saying?" Erza questioned as he looked towards the man "I mean…yea he is powerful, very powerful, but I haven't actually seen him fight…seriously." She said picking her words carefully, towards the end the blond realized that she was most likely referring to the battle at the tower.

Freed however only nodded as he continued to look at the blond. "The way he fought with me, the vast amount of magical power…he's not just some B or C class mage." He finished as he spared a glance towards the guild master who looked away while rubbing the back of his head.

When he registered the blond he had marked him as a C ranked mage so as not to draw attention to him, he had never expected Freed of all people to come forth and dispute the rank he had placed on the blond considering that they barely knew each other. It was very rare for Freed to just burst in and declare anything like that, he wasn't a very talkative person.

Naruto for his part had no idea what was happening, he didn't know much about ranks, he did know however what an S-class was but he highly doubted that he would fit that category. He still had a long way to go, a lot of training to be done to control his power even better.

A cough broke him out of his trail of thoughts. "That might be true, but there had been some circumstances and I had to give him that rank at start." Makarov said as the green haired mage nodded, accepting what he heard.

"In the future I'll want a rematch, I felt like there is more to you and your power and I wish to see it all." He told the blond before extending his hand. Naruto looked at it and then at the man before him before a grin appeared on his face.

He grabbed the man's hand and shook it. "I'll gladly give you a rematch, just make sure you place different runes next time."

"Don't worry, the original runes weren't meant to harm you, I had to change them specifically for your summons." He replied with a smirk as he released his hold on the blond and turned around, walking away.

That surprised Naruto, so the runes that had annihilated the skeletons could be changed after being placed. The man was surprising and it placed him in a new light now that he knew he had never intended to kill anyone.

As Freed vanished the rest of the guild moved forward bombarding the blond with questions like how his match with Freed had been, or the match with Luxus, or again questions about his powers.

Slowly he started to answer their questions, laughing from time to time with the members and forgetting about all his worries. If there was one thing he had never expected then that was to be accepted to easily by the people of this guild. The world was full of surprises, he had to admit it.

In time, the members around the blond started to disperse, having their questions answered some left to get jobs while others moved to chat with their team members or left the guild on various personal businesses.

The only people that remained with the blond were team Erza with the take-over siblings. They spent their time learning more about the blond, and the blond learning more about each one of them. For the first time in years he was having fun again, his worries long forgotten.

"Excuse me…" their conversation came to a halt as they heard someone call out behind them. Naruto chocked on his drink as he recognized the voice. "…is Naruto here?" the knight slowly turned around and his eyes widened as he saw who was there.

"Mother?" he whispered with shock evident in his voice.

* * *

**Note: **Alright, I feel like my neck is going to break. Actually, scratch that, I think need its long gone by now. Note to self : don't stay in the same position for three hours constantly not moving your head more than once per half-an hour.

I wrote this chapter and posted it faster than I usually do…as of late…as it seems like a wee bit of enthusiasm had taken hold of me. Props to whatever caused it!

Now I'd like to say I'm sorry, I most likely disappointed people with the weak-ass fight against Luxus but I set the stage for a future battle between them. The outcome if Naruto and Luxus had fought from the start, alone, both of them at full strength was hinted. Truth be told I didn't really know how to integrate Naruto in the fight without breaking the flow of the original plot. The battle with Luxus had a meaning in the manga and just felt right, being no place for me to add anything without damaging the story or having to re-write the entire battle from scratch.

But then again, I do think this worked out better. Personally I had more fun writing the battle with Freed, there was just something about it that made me feel like writing it while taking out the original battle was just right.

For his powers and how he knew what to use and how to use it I will explain it as the story goes on, I have given a hint however on how he knows the spells.

Lastly, I'm sure some of you have noticed a change in Naruto's personality, a small one at that. I'm going to have him revert from a stoic, sheltered (sad) person into a serious but cheerful (note: not happy go lucky idiot) person. Don't know if cheerful is the right word but then again we will see what was the right word later on.

Let's see how long it will take me to upload the next chapter now. Ha!

* * *

PS: Spell/Summoning glossary for Naruto will be added from now on down below: (some of the spells/summonings will be explained here, some not)

_**Shadows:**_ _Souls that had been called back from the dead, can only appear in the shadows (during daylight) and take a dark shadow-like form. Cannot attack the living, vanish instantly in the sunlight, very fast. _

_**Fireball (purple): **Speeds the aging process of any living organism to the point of death, the amount of aging can be controlled by the caster. _

_**Skeletons (normal):** Basic foot units, vast majority are just reanimated bones – rarely do they have a soul trapped within them. Slow speed, can attack the living, very weak to any form of attack._

_**Flaming Skulls (green):** Souls which have died in pain and cannot forget said pain in the afterlife. If they enter the body of the target the target will feel the pain they felt before they died at the intensity the user desires. One time attack on the living, can be countered. _

_**Death's reaper:** Enables Naruto to cheat death, gives him significant boost in strength and magic, cannot be sustained more than a few minutes. Cannot be used more than three times every three months. _

_**Death's hands: **A pair of gigantic hands that can travel through the ground in a radius of 500m around the user, can grab any solid object (living or not). Resistant to powerful attacks of all kind, have no special properties.  
_

_**Fireball (green):** Burns anything it touches, decays any living tissue at rapid pace. Decaying process cannot be controlled by the user. _

_In conjunction with **purple** it enables the user to use another spell with which to siphon the life out of a living target._

_**Spear (Chain Spear):** Spell does no damage, instead it summons chains binding whatever target it hit, the chains weight more than normal chains, have the property to render the target unable to move. _


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 14**

Naruto stared at the cup of tea in front of him, occasionally looking up at the woman in front of him as she looked around the guild with a small smile on her lips apparently happy with the guild her adopted son had been part of for the past few months. They stood in silence for minutes, since the moment she appeared in the guild he had no idea where to start or what to say.

Looking up towards her he opened his mouth to speak. "Mother…" the woman turned to face him "…I…" he looked back down at the cup trying to find his words.

There were many things he wanted to tell her and ask her. He wanted to apologize for certain things in the past, he wanted to know how she had been since he left and how she was handling herself now that the village was gone, that her husband was dead. But he couldn't bring himself to ask that, nor to say anything else, he just couldn't find his any words.

He then felt her touch his hand and looked up towards his mother, a small smile on her face. Grimacing slightly the knight looked back down at his cup not saying anything.

"Naruto…you don't have to feel ashamed to face me." She told him as he looked back up at her in confusion. Her smile was still there as she grabbed his hand and held it tightly.

With downcast eyes Naruto began to speak. "I'm sorry about leaving like that…" he told her, when he had been excommunicated he hadn't even been allowed to see her and since then things had been so hectic that he had never communicated with her again.

The woman however just smiled as she looked at him. "You don't need to apologize about that, Ronda already told me everything." She said with a sad smile as she looked down at the table as well.

At this the blond's head snapped up as he pulled away his hand, startling the blond woman as she looked up towards him. "Then you know…" he said in a low voice as he averted his eyes.

"Naruto." She started "You don't have to blame yourself for all that happened, it's not your fault." Aleandra told him sincerely but the young knight only shook his head at that as he turned to face her.

"The attack on the castle, the castles destruction and even before that, the attack on the village and all those deaths." He said as his voice slowly dropped several octaves as he began to remember the events that had transpired in the village. "Those deaths are on my hand; her death was only because of me." He mumbled closing his eyes.

Aleandra frowned as she moved forward and grabbed his hand again. "That's not true, you didn't summon those monsters, you didn't wish for that to happen."

Naruto however just shook his head, he knew that but the fact still remained that because of his powers someone had manipulated certain events so that his schemes could come to fruition. "But dad told you, I have that man's power, or a portion of it. Aren't you afraid of that?" he questioned looking up at her.

He slowly pulled back as he saw the sad look on her face, the look however slowly changed into a smile as she looked at him with the same eyes she always did, filled with the love for her adoptive son. "Of the power yes, of my own son, no." she told him as her smile widened slightly.

His eyes widened as he looked back down at his cup, closing his eyes. "But father…"

"I know…" she interrupted him as he opened his eyes. "…he told me, but whatever you saw or believe, he still loved you as if you were his own flesh and blood, he wanted to apologize, he wanted to protect you even after he discovered what powers you had but…to protect you he had to let you go." She mumbled sadly as she freed the man's hand and pulled back.

Naruto looked up at that, since the day he left all he could remember was the look of fright in the knight-commander's eyes, but now that he heard this…in a way it put him at ease, it relaxed him and he felt like a stone had been lifted from his chest, like he could breathe better.

"Then…" he said quietly as his mother smiled and spoke up once more.

"His last wish was for you to know that." She told him as the blond let a smile appear on his face.

The smile however quickly vanished as he looked up towards the woman. "Are you alright?" he questioned as she raised an eyebrow in confusion, not understanding what her son had asked. "The village…the castle…father." He mumbled as her eyes widened for a second before she looked down at the table, playing with her hands.

"I had to leave the village, without your father there or you around it was just too painful. He also had a lot of enemies in the ranks of bandits. If they got word about his death…" she trailed off as she lowered her head even more.

His eyes narrowed at that, she had run from the village to escape whatever dark fate would have awaited her. He could understand it a little bit, without the castle to offer protection to the villages in its nearby vicinity the bandits had free reign to do what they wished and Ronda had been widely known as the number one knight to make the most arrests and foil most bandit plans – and attacks.

"But what about you?" he questioned, as she looked up at him with a sad smile.

"It hurts." She admitted as a few tears formed in her eyes. "I've never thought that I'd become a widow so soon." Aleandra mumbled before wiping her tears away and placing her smile back on her face. "But I'm glad that at least I could find you, that you are safe."

This made the mage frown as he looked towards her. He stood up making the woman look at him in wonder as he moved around the table and then moved next to her. He embraced her and closed his eyes.

"I'm happy that you're alright mother." He told her making the woman smile and closed her eyes as well. "But please, don't force yourself to smile when you are in so much pain."

She slowly nodded as the blond pulled back and stood up looking down at her. Numerous thoughts and emotions passed through his mind; he wondered what he should do now, his adoptive mother had no home now, apart from him she had no family – or at least none that he knew of. For a moment he closed his eyes as a picture of Ronda appeared in front of him, he asked him – or more like himself – what he should do. The man merely smiled, like he used to do in the past and said nothing.

Opening his eyes and looking back towards the woman a small smile appeared. Feeling his gaze upon her Aleandra turned to face him, she watched as her son turned to face the guild and look around as if searching for something or someone.

The member of Fairy Tail had long left, letting the two chat in silence in a corner of the main hall. A large number of them were partying not far from them, some talking rather than drinking and she could see some leaving after picking up pieces of paper from a board in the hall.

After a few minutes the blond called out for a girl named Mirajane, she watched with interest as the white haired girl approached her son with a smile and a look in her eyes that she all but recognized. She looked up towards the blond boy with interest.

"Mira-chan, can I ask for a favor?" he questioned as the white haired mage stopped in front of him.

The girl tilted her head to the side and placed a finger on her lips as a questioning look appeared on her face. "It depends on the favor."

A small smile appeared on his face as he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulder pushing her back a little, a blush formed on her face as she took several steps back. Naruto moved forward towards her, the girl blushing even more, as he started whispering.

"I really need your help here Mira-chan…" he started with a serious look drawing her attention "…I…I've yet to actually buy an apartment for myself…" she stared at him incredulously.

"What?" she whispered harshly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Where have you been living all these months?"

A small, frightened, chuckle escaped his lips as he replied. "Here, there, the woods…" the last part being barely audible, even for a whisper.

Mirajane's eyes widened before narrowing dangerously once more. As she was glaring towards the blond a thought dawned upon her, if Naruto had spent all these months sleeping in the woods and in the guild hall had he ever washed? She had never smelt anything wrong before but the thought that…the girl shook her head dismissing the thoughts before looking up towards the knight with a murderous glare.

With a small chuckle he continued. "…do you happen to know a place I could buy, or somewhere I could crash? Mostly for my mother though…" he replied with a solemn look as her glare lessened. For a second she looked towards the elder woman's direction and noticed her looking towards them curiously.

Looking back the blond a sigh escaped her lips. "I don't know how you've been keeping yourself healthy but we can't have you living in the woods anymore." With a shake of her head Mirajane began to think on what were the nearest houses that could be purchased at a reasonable price.

A small smile appeared on her face as she turned around and walked towards the bar. She took a piece of paper and a pen as she scribbled something on it. Finally she turned and walked back towards the blond handing him the paper. "Go to this address and buy the apartment, tell the manager I sent you and he'll give you a discount." She said as Naruto nodded with a smile.

"Thanks Mira-chan." He told her giving her a toothy grin.

With a giggle the girl pushed the blond away. "Just be sure to have it prepared, I will bring the necessities for you both and lead your mother there."

"Yes, yes my lady." The blond mage said as he turned towards her and gave her a deep bow before running out of the guild and leaving the girl to laugh at him.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

The week went by fast, Naruto had helped his mother get accustomed to the town and helped her try to find a job – as she requested. They managed to find one working at one of the restaurants in the town as a chef, something she was really good at. It was all because of Mirajane that they managed to get her a job at such a high class place, apparently the owner owed the white haired mage a favor for a job she did in the past.

He didn't question on what that kind of job she did.

The small apartment he bought was a few blocks away from the Take-Over Siblings apartment, not that he minded, their visits were more than welcome. The apartment had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a dining room, everything they needed and at a price that the blond would have considered fair if it hadn't meant spending everything he had.

He never really took many missions since he joined the Guild, there was always something happening that stopped him from doing that. At first it was his training schedule, then his _departure _– if he could still call it that – and then the festival. The only moment he could actually take more than one mission was during this week. Too bad the last mission in the bundle he took was labeled incorrectly and instead of facing a high level B or low level A ranked mission he was facing an S-ranked mission.

With a grunt the knight peered around the corner of the wall he was using as cover. He immediately retracted his head as a massive rock crashed in the wall. All he had to do is clear out a bandit camp and stop some rampaging magical creature. All of that went to hell when he figured out the bandits leader was a dark mage and the magical creature was some sort of failed experiment by said mage unleashed upon the unsuspecting town.

Taking out the bandits had been easy, taking out the mage had been easy, taking out the beast...that was not easy. The beast was like a mix between a minotaur, a very large reptilian – if he had to take a wild guess it would most likely be one of those basilisks – and a griffon; a pretty nasty combo, dominance over land, sea and air in one package.

Taking a deep breath the knight jumped out of cover and created a purple fireball in his left hand as the sword in his right hand attainted a purple aura around the blade. He hurled the fireball towards the creature which jumped in the air, spreading its wings and descended towards the blond mage at high speed. He had expected this attack and as soon as it was just a few feet away from him the mage moved his sword in front of him and rapidly swiped the air in front of him five times creating five purple slashes that shot towards the beast.

The creature took all five of them directly, it howled in pain as one of its wings had been cut off falling on the ground and decomposing at an alarmingly fast rate. With nothing to hold it stable in the air the creature came crashing down towards the ground creating a small crater. It continued howling in pain as the attacks continued to drain its life inch by inch.

While the slashes weren't powered enough to drain its life completely it gave the blond enough time to prepare his second attack. Naruto moved carefully towards the downed monster and channeled his magic into his sword which was immediately surrounded by a green aura. Before he could strike however the beast rose up with a mighty roar, half of its body had decayed to the point that bones were visible, it eyed the mage and charged forward not giving the blond any time to react.

He quickly moved his sword up as he took the attack head on. As the beast carried him with full force towards the end of the room the blond knight stabbed the creature with his sword in the back repeatedly. The two of them collided with the wall, shattering it and ending up on the other side with the mage laying underneath the now dying creature. Pain washed over him as he felt like he had broken several bones.

Magic suddenly erupted from his right hand encompassing the dying creature, the green aura completing taking over both Naruto and his prey. Life force started to move into his body as he felt his bones popping and repairing themselves, in a matter of seconds his body had been fully restored while the creature had turned into nothing but a pile of bones that didn't resemble any kind of creature known to the land.

It took him several seconds to move the bones off him and stand back on his feet. While it had been a more unceremonious way to complete the mission and kill off his enemy it had been the only thing he could actually do at the time being.

"Sorry pal, but it was either you or both of us." He whispered as he turned and left the underground lair of the now captured dark mage.

Said mage had been knocked unconscious by Naruto and left at the entrance of the lair, which resided in the depth of a mountain. He had made sure not to harm humans that much, while dark mages – in his opinion – deserved a cruel fate and nothing more than the most agonizing form of torture to make them surrender he abided by the rules, last thing he needed was to turn into some sort of blood hungry maniac.

He shuddered at the thought, the image of him being a miniature Zeref didn't sit well.

The knight was shaken out of his thoughts as he reached the exit and noticed the column to which he had tied the mage was now sliced in multiple ways and the chain that once held the mage had been completely ripped to shreds. The mage, of course, was no where in sight.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he palmed his face. "They will cut my already shitty payment…" he mumbled to himself as he looked towards his right side and noticed that the entire group of bandits he had subdued – at least fifty in number – were still tied to the trees. "…at least I will still get some sort of payment." He scoffed.

One thing was for certain, he won't leave the mayors office until he pays the equivalent of a low S-rank mission, nothing more and nothing less. They would have to drag him out of the office with all the Rune Knights they could muster.

Grabbing several chains Naruto untied the group of bandits from the trees and started dragging them towards the town ignoring their protests, shouts of how they will get him and how they will hunt them down once they are free and how their master will free them. He merely rolled his eyes, they had been just puppets for the dark mage, something to stall any possible threat to the man's experiments, he wouldn't return to help a bunch of guys that failed him.

The knight wondered however who freed the dark mage but didn't dwindle on that, he had no way of tracking them down as it is. Nor did he really want to.

As soon as he returned to the town the first thing he did was drop off the bandits to the local jail before heading directly to the mayor's office. To say that they had an argument was an understanding, the blond had to pull every law transcript he knew and throw it at the mayor as argument to give him the right amount of payment.

But when the mayor had found out that the dark mage had gone missing he was adamant to not paying the blond more than a high A-class mission reward, add to the fact that Naruto had no way in proving that he had fought a deadly experiment of said mage – since no one would be able to identify those bones as something deadly – he had to give up the argument. That and the fact that after five hours of arguing the mayor had called the local guardsmen and they had surrounded the boy in the office.

With a scowl on his face Naruto left the town promising himself that he would report the mayor to the master and hope that the master would report this to the magic council. The last thing he needed right now was to go directly to the council and have a _pleasant _talk. He snorted at that, pleasant for them was to cuff him up and throw him in jail.

It wasn't long before the sun started to set and Naruto found himself still on the road, walking and lost in thought. He wasn't worried about camping out, he had done so many times in the past, he was worried however on the shortage of supplies. Since he had been in such a rush to leave for this mission and didn't think it would have taken him so long to complete he hadn't packed much food, the little he had would only last him for tonight and in the morning he would definitely be starving.

As his stomach grumbled he silently cursed knowing how stupid he had been not to double check on his food supply.

Without much of a choice Naruto made his way into the forest, straying away from the road. He knew that during the night bandits frequented the roads in an attempt to catch unsuspecting victims off-guard. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but he needed to sleep a little bit as well and sleeping on the side of the road wasn't ideal, anyone could rob him and anyone could plant a dagger in his chest before he could even realize what was happening.

So he made his way deep into the forest until he found a spot he was certain that would keep him relatively covered from bandit eyes, he wasn't that worried about wildlife as animals tended to keep a distance from him due to his power and if he needed to he could always put a skeleton on night watch like he usually did when he camped outside in Magnolia in the passed few months.

The knight wasted no time in setting up his camp and creating a small campfire. As soon as everything was in place he took out a can of fish he had taken with him and opened it up preparing to eat.

A small noise attracted his attention however, looking up he noticed a strange cat appearing from the bushes on the other side of the campsite. The cat looked like any normal cat – any cat apart from Happy that is – the only thing distinct and strange about this one was the green fur and the matching green eyes; their color reminded him of how his green aura looked like, a deathly green color.

The cat meowed as it moved towards the fire, staring towards the knight while it walked. He did nothing however, opting to merely watch the cat and see what it tries to do. He had seen many strange things in his life time and this didn't top it, to him this seemed more like something normal than anything else.

The small animal stopped in front of the fire and meowed once more as it looked towards the blond with its strange eyes. They stood watching each other for several minutes before Naruto rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the can of fish he had in his hands. He took several bites, enjoying the feeling of something falling in his stomach until he felt something at his feet.

Once more he looked away from his foot and noticed the cat at his feet, looking intently at him and meowing. The knight looked at the cat and then at his food and back at the cat, he moved the can towards the cat which smelled the air and meowed even more.

"You hungry as well?" he quested receiving another cry from the strange looking cat. The knight placed the can down next to him attracting the cat's attention which tried to pounce it if not for the blond grabbing it and lifting it to face level.

"You are a strange one…" he muttered as he turned the cat around several times, inspecting it. All the while the feline cried towards the blond as it tried to move away from his grip and jump on the can of food. "…is this someone's idea of a joke? To paint a cat in green?" he questioned himself before looking directly into the cat's eyes.

The cat stared back at him not making any sound before it inched closer and licked his nose. A small smile appeared on his face as he placed the cat down and took the can back into his hands. The feline walked forward stopping on mage's feet and sitting down on them, looking up at him and expecting some sort of treat.

He chuckled slightly as he took out a small fish from the can and lowered it to the cat's level. The green feline took it with one swift strike and began eating it at a speed that could match Naruto's when devouring his second favorite dish in the world.

He too took another small fish from the can and ate it before giving a second one to the feline which began to purr and wag its tail from joy. In a matter of seconds the can had been devoured by both of them and Naruto was left staring at the empty can with a frown before opening a second one. He had planned to ration his food so he could eat in the morning as well but right now he didn't really care anymore.

As he opened the second can the cat perked up and meowed once more demanding to be fed. He chuckled slightly as he gave the cat a piece of canned meat to eat, the feline devoured it greedily as the blond ate as much as he could.

It didn't take them long to finish the second can as well, they were left with only one and as Naruto was about to open it he thought against it and decided to store it for tomorrow. Better to have something in your stomach than nothing and from the looks of it the cat agreed with his plan as it stopped asking to be fed and just layed down on his legs and began to drift off into slumber.

It surprised him a bit that this cat was not afraid of him, most of the animals – domestic or not – that he had come into contact with had been afraid to get close to him due, probably because of the aura of death that constantly surrounded him, given to him by his magic.

He didn't ponder on it too much though, he was glad to have some company for the night, so much that he had fallen asleep with the cat on his lap without bothering to summon a skeleton to keep watch.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

The next morning Naruto woke up to the sound of a cat meowing, as he looked down on his lap he saw the cat begging to be fed as it stared at him. The last can of food had been split among the two of them, the little he had was enough to keep him going until he would reach Magnolia.

As soon as he cleared the camp he set out to leave, not before saying his goodbye's to the little feline. What he didn't expect however was for the cat to follow him through the forest and even into the town at the outskirts of the forest. He stopped before entering the town and looked at the cat wondering what to do with it, he thought about taking it home and having it as a pet but he wasn't sure how his mother would react to the cat, they never had a pet when they lived back home nor did she tell him if she ever had any allergies to any sort of animals.

But looking at the small feline he couldn't help but feel like he needed to take it with him, like it was a part of him now. It felt strange, but he felt some sort of connection to the feline. The knight couldn't really place it nor explain it to himself, it just felt like the cat was a part of him and that alone scared him a little and gave him comfort at the same time.

It felt like he had an ally, a friend and an enemy at the same time.

Naruto laughed to himself, what a foolish way of thinking, a small cat as his enemy? That was preposterous. With a shake of his head the man knelt down and took the cat in his arms, the feline however just meowed once and jumped out of his arms and moved towards his left shoulder where it sat down, curling around his shoulder and moving its tail around his neck as if holding it for support.

He raised an eyebrow at that but did nothing to change the feline's location.

The two made their way through town towards the train station where they took the train back to Magnolia. The trip had been uneventful and didn't last more than a few hours. By noon they were back home.

From the train station to the guild it was just a few minutes of walking, he looked around as everyone smiled and nodded towards him. After the fight with Luxus, while he was out cold, it seemed like the guild master had made a few mentions to the tabloids that the reason Magnolia was safe was due to him stepping up from the shadows. This gained him recognition, this also gained him hungry journalists on his tail that tried on numerous occasions in the past week to try and get an interview out of him.

Of course he ignored them and their questions, being raised as a soldier from a young age taught him how to keep his cool and ignore those he chose to ignore. Something he did often back when he was still a knight of Kimos, he would at times have jobs as a guard which required him to be on constant alert and not be distracted by anything. That meant that he would have to ignore people until the commanding officer told him he was dismissed.

As he was thinking about the past he realized that he had reached the guild, he saw Mirajane in front of the building tending to the few flowers that grew in the guild's premise. It always amazed the blond how those flowers survived Natsu's destruction, or the battle royal that took place with Luxus, or the battles in general that take place in the guild.

He didn't bother too much.

"Hi Mira-chan!" he called out as soon as he was closer to the girl.

The white haired mage perked up as she heard his voice and looked up with a smile. "Welcome back Naruto." She called as she walking forward, stopping in front of him. "How was your mission?"

A frown appeared on his face as he dismissed his helmet and looked at the girl. "Turns out the mayor lied about the job, it was definitely not B-rank…much less C-rank." He said as the girl's sunny disposition vanished slightly.

"Nothing too hard I hope." Mirajane said eyeing the blond with interest, a hint of worry in them.

A shrug was the first reply she got. "Well, I would classify it as at least low S-rank…" he said making her eyes widen.

In an instant she dropped what she was doing and moved to check the blond mage. "Are you hurt?" she questioned with a serious look in her eyes making the blond chuckle slightly and shake his head.

"Don't worry, I came out intact." He gave her a toothy grin as the girl let out a relieved sigh.

Just then the cat woke up and meowed drawing the white haired girl's attention. She stared at the cat and then squealed in delight as she grabbed the feline and brought it to her chest, petting it and talking to it.

A small sweat drop formed on the back of the blond's head, this was a side of Mirajane that he had never seen. He laughed a bit as he looked towards the girl and the look of joy on her face. As he stared at her he felt his heart beat faster and brought his hand to his chest as he stared down, he had been feeling like this ever since she kissed him in the infirmary.

He had conflicted feeling for her and didn't really know what to do. There was no denying it that he liked her, but he wasn't sure if it was a passing thing, or just mere admiration of her beauty and character, or more. Looking back up at her a smile appeared on his face as he saw her conversing with the small cat.

"Are you hungry little one?" she questioned as the cat meowed in reply. "Oh that's not good, we need to feed you." She squealed as she hugged the cat and began walking towards the guild.

"Hey…what about me?" the blond questioned in a mock hurt tone making Mirajane turn towards him, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. A sly smile then appeared on her face as she replied.

"If you are hungry then come inside, I can prepare something for you Na-ru-to-kun." She said slyly making the blond blush and nod dumbly.

Mirajane turned around and began to giggle as she walked back in the guild, leaving the knight to his thoughts. Once more he moved his hand to his chest and closed his eyes, his mother had told him several times during the week that if he really felt something for the girl he needed to take a step forward and take her out, or do something nice for her.

She was right about one thing; he needed to do something nice for Mirajane. The white haired mage had been nothing but nice to him, helping him, being there for him, going as far as risking her own well-being for him. In a way it made the blond realize that even for a friend no one would go as far as she went, he knew by now the kind of feelings she had for him. It wasn't like she was even trying to hide it.

The only thing stopping him from actually trying to see what his feelings for her really were had been the hectic schedule.

With a small sigh he made his way in the guild and looked around, there weren't many people inside. Most likely the majority of the mages had left on different missions. Looking towards the bar he noticed Mirajane feeding the green feline already and preparing something for him as well.

The blond walked up towards the bar. "Do you know where Master is? I need to tell him about the mission." Mirajane nodded as she told him that Makarov was in his office and that it would take a few minutes until his food was ready.

He nodded and thanked her before leaving towards the guild masters office. The knight knocked once at the door and as soon as he heard Makarov say 'enter' he opened it and walked inside.

"Ah Naruto, how can I help you?" the old mage asked as the blond knight closed the door behind him and walked towards the desk.

"Ah, I came here to report my last mission." He answered earning a curious look from the guild master. He had told the blond that there is no need to report mission details a week ago and was sure that the blond understood that, but if he was here it could only mean that something happened during the mission that required his attention.

"Go on, what happened?"

Naruto began explaining the details of the mission, how it was supposed to be a C-rank mission but in truth was an S-rank mission due to the dark mage and the experimental beast and then how the mayor would not pay the right amount of money and continue to lie about how the mission was not S-rank but a mere C or B.

To say that Makarov wasn't pleased with what he heard was an understatement, the man was angry. One of his children had been put in danger and after going above and beyond to protect the innocent he had been denied the rightful payment. Even though Naruto said that he didn't care much about the payment and he would rather the man just get reported and have the council straighten him, Makarov had planned to make sure that the knight would get the right payment for the mission.

He didn't care that the dark mage had escaped, from what the blond told him that mage had been at par with him and if Naruto hadn't caught him in a bad moment, as in, when he had just finished experimenting some more on the beast, the mage could have done some serious damage to him.

The blond mage was high A-rank, he had sparred once with Erza and was forced to not use any of his summons. A one on one combat with his sword and magic and the ex-knight still lost against the Titania. Even though Erza admitted that if Naruto had used his summons the outcome would have been different, Makarov wanted to show the blond that if at one point, during a battle, he would be unable to summon help from the depths he would need to rely on basic magic and combat skills.

Fighting against an S-ranked mage when he was at fifty percent power was still dangerous, but the guild master was pleased. It showed that the blond was growing and becoming stronger, he was more than certain that in a few months Naruto would rise up to the S-rank status and do great things.

"Naruto…" the old man called as he rummaged through his drawers. "…like I said, you deserve a reward for a job well done." He told the blond mage as he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "The owner of this restaurant is a dear friend of mine and owes me several favors, why don't you go out tonight with someone and have some fun?" he questioned as Naruto looked at the paper which was actually a sort of ticket allowing access and free dinner to two people.

"Master, I can't just accept this…" he frowned as he tried to hand it back only to have the small man push his hand away and shake his head.

"Its not like I have anyone to go with, besides, don't you want to spend some time with Mirajane?" he questioned with a sly grin as the blond tensed up and began to blush a little.

He scratched his head as he thought of an answer or comeback but nothing came to his mind. With a defeated sigh he accepted the old man's words and thanked him before leaving the office.

As he made hi way towards the hall he stared at the ticket and wondered how he could tell Mirajane, how he could invite her. Maybe he could hold it off for later.

Still deep in his thoughts he sat down at the bar as Mirajane placed a plate with cooked food for him to eat; beside him on the counter stood the green feline, drinking milk from a plate.

"What do you have there Naruto-kun?" he heard Mirajane ask and noticed her peering over the counter. With a quick move he moved his hand behind his back and smiled as a disappointed frown appeared on the girl's face.

"It's nothing important Mira-chan." The knight answered as he looked down at the plate and smiled. "This smells really good…." He commented as the girl smiled at the small compliment.

Pocketing the ticket Naruto moved his hand back on the counter and started eating. "And it tastes even better than it smells." He complimented, making Mirajane blush slightly. "You really outdone yourself!" he exclaimed as he began devouring the food.

Mirajane merely giggled at him as she watched him eat, as there was no one else ordering today she could stay with him and just watch him. He hadn't been in the guild for more than a few minutes, or an hour during the week. She felt happy to finally be able to sit and just talk with him, or at the moment, gaze at him.

It didn't take long for the mage to finish his plate and exhale in delight, a smile appearing on his face. "That was amazing." He said in a blissful tone.

"I'm glad you liked it." Mirajane answered with a small laugh making the blond blush slightly.

"Where did you find the little fellow?" the white haired mage questioned as she began to stroke the cat's fur.

"It found me actually…" the blond answered as he looked towards the cat as it started to purr under the girls touch. "…I was in the forest, preparing to eat the little food I had and it just appeared…"

Mirajane smiled as she took the cat in her arms once more and began swaying a little while stroking the cat. He smiled as he watched her, he had to admit that if possible he would spend his entire day just looking at her, at that smile on her lips and listen to her laugh and talk.

He then remembered the ticket Makarov gave him and reached out for it, stopping midway. Looking back up at her he gulped slightly drawing her attention.

"Something wrong?" she questioned as Naruto quickly shook his head.

A frown appeared on her face as she put the cat down and bent over towards him, looking directly into his eyes. "If there is something wrong, you know you can always tell me."

He nodded at that, trying to keep his heart from racing. Taking a deep breath he began to think it over, if he just bid his time, waiting and waiting he might eventually grow out these feelings, but deep down he felt like that wasn't the right thing to do and that he would only regret it in the future.

Opening his eyes he looked towards the white haired mage as she was playing with the cat once more. "Umm…Mira-chan?" he questioned drawing her attention. "I was wondering, are you free tonight?"

The girl took a thinking pose before shaking her head. He took a deep breath, it was now or never. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight." He said in one perfect sentence, as soon as he said it he felt like a massive rock had been taken off his chest and that he could breathe once again.

There was a deathly silence as soon as he said that, looking up towards Mirajane he saw her staring at him, the cat in her hands looking at him as well as if it had understood the question.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she spoke. "You mean…like a date?" she questioned with a sly smile as the blond mage blushed slightly and gave a small nod.

Once more there was silence; she looked at him, her smile vanishing as soon as she saw him nod. Then, she squealed so loud that Naruto nearly jumped in fright. "Yes! Yes! I'd love to!" she shouted letting the cat drop on the counter and grabbing his hands. "When and where?" she asked with a big smile on her face.

"Umm…eight o'clock, at the _Illustrious Mage _restaurant." He said a bit uncertain as he had been taken by surprise by her reaction.

Once more she squealed as he moved away from the counter and twirled around once asking herself what she would wear, telling herself that she needed to go prepare and then vanishing so fast that Naruto had no time to register what just happened.

As soon as he came to his senses he realized something, or more like it was so obvious now that he would have to be the densest person on the planet. She liked him, a lot.

A meow grabbed his attention, looking down he saw the cat moving towards him and looking at him. A smile appeared on his face as he took the cat in his hands.

"Well little fellow, I need to go get ready as well…you can spend the night at my place for now and if mother likes you, you might be a permanent member of the household." He chuckled as he walked out of the guild with the cat in his hands.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

As eight o'clock came Naruto could be found standing in front of the restaurant waiting for his date to arrive. He had to admit that he was nervous about this, more nervous than when he had asked her out. Even though he had dated in the past and gone very far, he had been nervous even then and now it was happening again. There are some things that just don't vanish and this was one of them.

"Have you been waiting for long?" he heard Mirajane's voice and turn to answer her.

As soon as he turned his eyes widened as he saw her, she was wearing a black one piece dress that had a silver ring right below the breasts holding the top half over them. A simple dress but it did damn well in accentuating her figure.

"Wow…" was all that he could say as he stared at her. Mirajane merely giggled as she walked up to him. "Its rude to stare you know." She said with a wink as the blond quickly shook his head and tried to hide his blush.

With a small laugh he apologized. Mirajane studied the blond, he was a wearing a very classy black suit with a light blue shirt underneath, she saw him extending his arm towards her and smiled as she wrapped her arm in between his and both entered the restaurant.

As soon as they were in Naruto was amazed at how fancy the place was, its no wonder that his mother hammered into his mind that he needed to dress in the fanciest way possible.

They were soon greeted by a man wearing a tuxedo as he asked them if they had reservations. As answer the former knight handed the man the ticket that Makarov had given him, he looked over it before his eyes widened a bit and a smile appeared on his face. He guided them inside the restaurant and towards one of the tables and the far end of the room, next to an aquarium.

The table was for two people, facing each other, it was placed from what it seemed inside a small compartment that could be easily closed from prying eyes with a red curtain. A vase with a red rose was sitting on the table, next to it a single candle burned. Above them the light was dimmed down to give a more romantic scenery.

The waiter guided them to their seats as Naruto walked towards the first one and pulled the chair allowing Mirajane to sit down, she smiled as she took a seat and thanked the blond who moved her closer to the table. He too then moved towards his own seat and sat down. While all this happened the waiter had vanished, probably to give them some room.

"You know…" Mirajane started in a low voice. "…when you said to meet at this restaurant I didn't think that we would actually eat here." A hint of admiration present in her tone.

He smiled in return. "Well if we are going out we might as well go somewhere memorable."

As she was about to reply the waiter returned with two menu's, he handed one to each of them before smiling and leaving once more. Naruto looked through the menu and felt himself die a bit inside, this place was expensive as hell, what the hell did Makarov think of when he gave him that ticket? Did he really think he could afford all of this.

As he looked up towards his date and saw the smile on her face as she was reading through the menu, he could only smile and shake his head, it didn't matter in the end, as long as she enjoyed herself, as long as they both enjoyed themselves the price didn't matter. Looking at her he knew that he could spend his entire day just looking at that smile, just looking at her and knowing that she was happy.

As he already knew what he was going to order he looked around the restaurant a bit, everything was fancy and it looked like all the high class of Fiore – and maybe even from neighboring countries – came here to eat. He was glad that their booth was illuminated in the way it was, that way people wouldn't stare at them. It wasn't every day that someone would see two Fairy Tail mages eating at the fancies restaurant in town. The tabloids would go bat shit insane if they had known about this, that's for sure.

"Are you ready to order?" he heard the waiter ask, he hadn't notice when he arrived. Mirajane nodded and so did Naruto, both of them ordered and the waiter left with another smile as the white haired beauty turned her attention to the blond.

"So tell me Naruto, what's the occasion for such a fancy date?" she question slyly as she moved forward, placing her hands under her chest on the table.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he answered, two can play that game. "Well Mira-chan, I thought that after that nice treatment in the infirmary I should do something nice in return." A small blush formed on her cheeks as she remembered the event in the infirmary, though she did not regret that.

"You know…" she started her sly smile reappearing "…after this, I might just give you the same treatment all over again, ten fold." Mirajane told the blond giving him a wink and making him freeze for a second. The look on his face, together with the blush made her smile in victory and silently giggle as well.

"Well…if that's the case I might as well just take you up on that offer and make this night all the more memorable." He said as the girl closed her eyes and hummed to herself for a few seconds before opening her eyes and smiling brightly as if she had just imagined how the night would unfold.

While they where talking Naruto realized that a song was playing the background, he was surprised he hadn't heard it. It was a slow, quiet song, perfect for couples and a small dance. He frowned however when he noticed that there was no place for them to actually have a go at dancing while waiting for the food. But looking at the girl it didn't seem like she minded, he smile never vanished from her face and the dreamy look in her eyes, something so uncharacteristically for her was something he had never seen before.

Looking at her, in the low lighting of their table, he felt his heart racing once more. Her hair, her eyes, her lips, her personality, everything about her made his heart flutter. If this wasn't love he wasn't sure what it was; for once, for this night, he felt like he was a teen again, meeting the love of his life, just the two of them and nothing else around them. At this point, the world around them didn't matter anymore, it was just them, together.

They talked once more, conversing about each other, leaning about each other. While Naruto didn't venture much into his past, especially the darker memories as he wished to keep this night imprinted in his mind as the perfect night, he told her everything, even what he hadn't told his adoptive parents. She already knew a bit about his past but for this night he didn't go into the negative parts of his life and stuck with the few good memories he had and could share.

He was most surprised however when she wanted to hear his stories about the time he was a knight of the Royal Guard and his adventures. He complied to her request and told her about his adventure leaving out certain details such as the vampires, the things that he told her and what he did while with the Royal Guard kept her captivated, so captivated that neither of them realized that their food had arrived until the waiter wished them a _bon appetite_.

Even while eating they exchanged several stories, laughing and playfully teasing each other, both of them forgetting for a moment about the world around them, about the guild, the mage's and everything in general. It was just them there and no one else and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

As midnight came the two of them could still be found in the restaurant sharing a glass of wine and laughing. At this point the blond no longer cared what the bill would be, how much in dept to the restaurant he would be, he was just enjoying the company. When the clock struck midnight however the blond asked for the bill and they prepared to leave, as they stood up the waiter came and whispered in the blond's ear.

He was either drunk from the amount of wine he had consumed with Mirajane or he hadn't heard it right, but the waiter had told him that everything had been paid in advance by the guild master. Before he could question further the man left with a smile. It seemed like Makarov had planned for this for some time, this was no ordinary coincidence, but once more, as soon as he looked towards his date he just didn't care anymore.

The girl smiled as he handed her his arm which she gladly took. She placed her head on his shoulder as they both walked out of the restaurant.

They walked at a moderate pace, in silence. None of them knew what to say anymore, the night – in his opinion – had been perfect the way it had been, now all he wanted to do is enjoy the night while walking with the white haired girl in his arm. He glanced towards her as she walked next to him, her head on his shoulder and eyes closed. A content smile on her lips, clearly pleased with the way the night had progressed.

A few years ago he would have never though that he would be here, doing this all over again. He didn't complain.

It didn't take long for them to reach Mirajane's place, they stopped at the door of the apartment. All the lights were off and the only thing illuminating the place was street lamps and the moon itself, a perfect setting as if taken directly from a romance novel.

He stopped as Mirajane let go of his arm and moved towards the door, she turned around to face him, her hands behind her back and a soft smile on her lips. "I really enjoyed myself Naruto-kun." She said taking a step forward. "Thank you for taking me out." Her smile widened as she bent forward slightly.

He knew where this was going and a smile formed on his lips without him realizing. Moving forward he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "It was my pleasure." He whispered moving forward and capturing her lips. They closed their eyes savoring the kiss which seemed to last for an eternity.

As they slowly parted and opened their eyes a mischievous glint appeared in Mirajane's eyes, a smile forming on her lips. "I hope we get to do this again, in the future." She whispered as she wrapped her hands around the blond's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Parting once more the white haired mage sighed happily as she unwrapped her hands. "Maybe we will…" he answered opening his eyes again, he could definitely get used to this again. "…but for now, I need to bid you farewell." He finished.

Mirajane nodded, her smile never leaving her face as she turned around and walked inside her house, not before blowing him another kiss and whispering goodnight. He stood there for several minutes, letting it all soak in, then took a deep breath and turned around, leaving.

As he arrived home he was greeted by the green feline, it looked at him from his dimly lit room. A chuckle escaped his lips as he sat down in his bed and looked at the nightstand. A picture of him and Yuna stood there, a reminder of his past. The smile died a bit, but it did not vanish, it was replaced with a sad smile as he took the picture in his hands and stared at it.

The cat sensing something troubling her new master meowed and jumped in his lap. He unconsciously started to pet her as he stared at the picture. Gradually, his sad smile turned back into a happy one. "I guess its time to move on…I don't think you'd like to see me mopping forever and wishing for time to rewind itself." Slowly he placed the picture back on the nightstand and looked at it one more time before looking at the cat.

He laughed softly as he lifted the cat and placed it on the bed, he undressed and put his pajamas on before jumping in bed and covering himself. "Good night little one." He said turning off the light and drifting into slumber.

The cat stared at him for several minutes before looking towards the picture. It then stared back at the blond and sighed. The green feline stood up and jumped out of the bed, it walked up towards the blond and as it did it grew bigger, taking the form of a human. She stopped next to the blond's face and kneeled down, slowly she moved her hand up and caressed his cheek.

"_Poor you…"_ she whispered softly _"…out of all of them you were the first to truly grasp freedom and then lose it as fast as you attained it."_ She hummed softly as her green eyes scanned his facial expression.

She continued caressing his cheek as she felt the power inside of him. _"They did say you were interesting, but I never thought that you'd be this interesting."_ A sly grin appeared on her face as she moved closer to him.

"_I hope I can count on you when the time comes, my little reaper."_ She whispered before shrinking down to her feline form and jumping on the bed, next to his sleeping form.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

"What?" the blond's voice echoed throughout all of Magnolia the next day. He stood in the guild hall looking over the tabloid that Lucy had given to him as per his request. The mage had noticed a lot of people, mainly the female population looking at him with dreamy eyes all the way to the guild and then heard some whispering how lucky the one that had him was. Now he knew what it was all about, someone from the Weekly Sorcerer had spotted them entering the restaurant last night and took several pictures.

He saw a picture of him and Mirajane holding hands across the table. His head dropped on the table with a loud thud as he continued to smack himself several times. How had he not seen the guy (or girl) that took these pictures? Then he looked up with wide eyes, maybe it was all planned, that is why the food had been for free, that is why Makarov had that ticket all of a sudden. He glared towards the guild master who was sipping from his cup on the counter without a care in the world.

Feeling a gaze on him he looked up and spotted the blond glaring towards him. A delicate eyebrow shot up and then just shrugged as he continued doing what he was doing. Calming himself Naruto realized that the master wouldn't do that, there was no way he would want to put him in the spot light. Sure he might have arranged for the dinner, the table and pretty much the whole night, but not the journalists.

He sighed, what a terrible way to start a day. Now the gossip about him will skyrocket, people will chase him to the ends of the earth to get interviews, to learn about him, to present him to the public and what not.

A hand suddenly touched his shoulder as the little green feline, Mimi as his mother came to call her, meowed happily. "Something wrong Naruto-kun?" it was Mirajane, he felt her place her head on his shoulder as she gently wrapped her arms around his chest and looked down at the tabloid. A small frown appeared on her face before a smile took over and she started giggling. "Let them talk what they want, I don't care." She told the blond.

He looked up at her with a curious look on his face. What he got in return was a peck on the cheek before she stood up and walked towards the bar to start her daily routine. Naruto placed his hand on his cheek and mumbled incoherent words to himself, ignoring the laughing Lucy next to him. He stood like that for several minutes before finally snapping out of his little trance due to Lisanna.

"Finally!" she exclaimed "I was beginning to worry sis had learned some sort of charm and stuck you in it…though it did look like you were enjoying it." She teased as the blond gave her a half glare. The younger sibling merely laughed at his expense before her face turned deathly serious.

"So tell me Naruto, how was the date?" she asked, clearly overprotection between siblings was present no matter who the elder was.

With a small sweat drop he answered her question. "Well…if I was to sum it up it would be the most incredible experience I've ever had in my entire life." He answered without breaking a sweat.

This seemed to take the girl off guard as she looked at him with wide eyes. A smile then appeared on her face as she hugged him. "Thank you for taking her out, it means a lot to me and it means a lot to my sister." She whispered before pulling back. "Promise me you will take good care of her, she deserves it."

A small smile creped on his face as he patted the younger sister on the head. "Don't worry Lisanna, I will do whatever it takes to make your sister happy." He answered as the girl nodded happily and ran off.

He stood in silence for several minutes, Lucy allowed him some time on his own deciding that it was best not to tease her fellow blond at the moment, let him enjoy the moment.

However, his enjoyment was cut short as Makarov called him over.

"Yes master?" he questioned curiously, usually Makarov only called someone over if there was something important.

"Naruto, I have a small message that needs to be delivered to a fellow mage. Could you do this for me?" he questioned as he handed a closed envelope to the blond.

Naruto studied it for a second, the address was written on the envelope. He looked up at the master and nodded with a small grin.

"Sure, I'll deliver it." He answered as Makarov matched the grin with his own.

"I knew I could count on you!" he exclaimed happily. "Leave as soon as you can." He finished as he jumped off the table and walked to his office.

Naruto watched him leave before turning to Mirajane, she was humming a small song to herself while cleaning the glasses in the bar. He smiled as he watched her, she seemed so happy about last night.

Slowly he approached her and tapped her on the shoulder, the girl spun around and her smile grew as she saw the blond. "How can I help you Naruto?" she asked happily, more so than her usual tone.

With his smile still present on his lips he answered her. "I have to leave for a mission, I will probably be back later tonight or tomorrow."

The girl nodded as she took out the register and noted down what the blond told her. As he prepared to leave Mirajane grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her.

She gave him a small kiss on the cheek before letting him go. "Good luck Naruto-kun, come back safe." She said in a sing-song voice as the knight could only nod.

Mirajane watched as the blond left the guild with the green feline following him and then jumping on his shoulder and assuming a comfortable position. She watched as he vanished through the door and let out a dreamy sigh as she continued with her daily routine, the events of last night's date constantly replaying in her mind, her heart never once stopping from beating as fast as it did.

* * *

**A/N**: Any and all questions regarding my absences have been addressed on my profile in a short notice that you can't miss. I plan to finish my FT crossovers at least, one way or the other. But once more I apologize if it will take time, a lot of time. At least now you all know why my updates will come and go at times.

In any case, its midnight, I finished this after, I think 1 week of writing 1 to 2k words. There are errors here and there, as always. I will correct them in the morning. For now, do enjoy.

PS: Have I lost my touch? Or is it still enjoyable to read? :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail**

**A/N:** I want to address some issues that have been pointed out to me regarding the crossover and Naruto, even though I stated it privately for those that spoke them I will state them here for future reference and for people to not ask them again. If Naruto is not 100% Naruto its because this is fiction, its AU, its OOC and all for the reason that if I wanted to make a 100% Naruto I would have done a generic story like the 1000+ that already exist. If Naruto gets his ass kicked its because I'm an avid believer of heroes type characters that learn as they progress and do not become strong from the very start of a story. But that's my taste and you do not have to support my taste, please don't tell me about these stuff over and over again, its chapter 15 already and even if I start making personality changes it won't be to please everyone. I cannot please everyone.

Finally, the chapter is a bit rushed, I do apologize but I wanted to get through the Nirvana arc a bit faster and with the limited time I have to write...well...this was the best I could do for a chapter. Hopefully the future ones won't be so rushed. You have been warned about it being rushed, I cannot guarantee 100% quality this time. My apologize.

**A/N 2: **There, slightly modified...I'll be honest, I can't change more than I did. Not only that it doesn't feel right but I can't think of how else I could change it without doing some sort of heavy modification to the arc, which it is something I hadn't planned from the beginning. I figured that the part most people were angry was the first "battle" where he is "defeated" ... I don't know how else to introduce that character more than doing that. I might have run out of ideas...everyone does...In any case, you won't see him loosing to anything below S-class anymore as the story progresses. In fact I had been hinting at that for a few chapters, but oh well...

**PS: **I will do a small revision to 16 as well, add a few things and then put it back up.

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 15**

"I am seriously lost…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he passed by the same tree for the third time in the past thirty minutes. It was like this forest was a trap for unsuspecting victims.

He had reached the destination on the envelope only to be told that the mage he was looking for was no longer there and had to venture to the house of the Blue Pegasus's guild master. Now that was a problem, Naruto had no idea where this place was and even with the instructions that the fellow mage gave him he had still gotten himself lost.

That was yesterday, he had spent the night in the forest and first thing in the morning he had left for his destination again only to get lost. A sigh escaped his lips, what a cruel game fate was playing with him, he would gladly face an unending horde of monsters and mages than get lost. In all his years this has never happened to him.

His train of thought was broken as Mimi suddenly perked up and jumped down from his shoulder running into the forest. "Hey wait!" he shouted as the cat vanished in the bushes. "Damn cat…" the knight palmed himself.

Just then he heard a startled cry, most likely belonging to a girl much younger than him from what he could tell. With narrowed eyes he sprung forward towards the origin of the sound, reaching the location in mere seconds. He jumped into the clearing and noticed Mimi standing in front of a small dark blue haired girl with brown eyes. She wore a loose fitting dress and a pair of sandals with wing designs.

The girl was staring at the cat, a mix of confusion and happiness danced in those brown eyes of her. Then she looked up at him and her eyes widened, replaced with fear and insecurity as she looked up towards him. It made the blond wonder if his armor was really that scary, or if he was scary in general.

Kneeling down slightly he made called out of the cat which meowed and turned around, running up to the blond. The little girl watched with interest as the man in front of her picked the cat up and petted it before allowing it to sit on his shoulder. He then turned to face her and she gulped slightly.

"Relax…" he said in a calm, reassuring tone. "…I'm not going to hurt you." The strange man proclaimed as the dark blue haired girl stared at him, her fear vanishing slightly. "Are you lost?" he questioned curiously and wanted to scoff, maybe the little girl should have asked him that.

But before she could answer his senses picked up something crashing down towards him. He didn't sense much danger from what was coming and merely jumped back slightly. In mere seconds a cat which strongly reminded him of Happy crashed down on the ground in between him and the little girl taking a defensive position. "Stay away from her!" the cat growled as he felt Mimi stand up on his shoulder and hiss at the unwanted newcomer.

He took a second to study the cat, while she did look like Happy a little bit there were some major differences in their looks. Her fur was white with pink ears and brown eyes. She wore a pink bow near the end of her tail a top consisting of a mustard yellow and pink top with a pink bow tie. To complete the look she wore a pink skirt with this top.

Taking his eyes off the strange cat he turned to look at his own as it glared towards the newcomer. He petted it once to calm her down and spoke up.

"Like I told the little girl, there is no need to be alarmed; I am not here to hurt anymore." He declared turning to face the cat once more only to notice its eyes narrow and getting ready to pounce.

"And why should we trust you?" she growled out as the little girl stood up and looked like she wanted to say something but refrained from doing so.

With a scoff the blond retracted his gauntlet revealing his hand and on the back of his hand the Fairy Tail guild stamp, a dark green colored stamp. The cat looked over the mark for several seconds before letting her guard down slightly.

"That could be easily falsified." She stated as the blond recalled his gauntlet and shook his head.

"It is true that a mark can be falsified but if you were to send magic into it and it didn't vanish then you'd know its not fake." He explained as he glared towards the cat "Want me to prove it?"

The cat merely scoffed completely letting her guard down and dismissed him with a wave of her small paw. "I don't need to see a demonstration, openly admitting it is enough for me to know that you are not a fake."

"That's a pretty easy way of accepting the truth." He declared as the cat chose not to answer back to the claim.

The little girl however finally moved forward and looked at the blond with interest in her eyes, he could see a tinge of insecurity as she stared at him. Kneeling down to her level once more he dismissed his helmet allowing her to see his face. He gave her a small smile to which the girl replied with her own and a small blush on her cheeks.

Finally she bowed down slightly and muttered something. "Excuse me?" he questioned not hearing what she said.

"Umm…" she stood back up looking around, he could tell by now that she was shy. "I'm sorry for the way Charle treated you…" she mumbled once more, this time finally hearing. The little cat mere scoffed as she walked forward glaring towards the blond.

"I was merely looking out for you, for all we knew this man could have been a bandit or worse. You mustn't trust everyone you meet just because they act nice at first." He had to give the cat credit, she knew what she was talking about. His smile however never faltered as he listened to what she had to say.

"That is very true, you have a nice companion here to look after you like that." He praised the cat who seemed to be taken aback a little as she broke eye contact with him.

The girl however merely nodded happily as she picked up the cat despite her protests and hugged her tightly. "This is Charle." She said lifting the cat up a bit which in turn turned her head around with a scoff – very unsociable the blond thought to himself. "My name is Wendy Marvell." She then said lowering her companion and looking up at the blond.

A smile spread over his face as he extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you Wendy, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." The girl looked at his hand and slowly moved hers forward and gingerly shook his hand.

The knight chuckled a little at her shyness, as she heard him chuckle she retracted her hand and covered her face slightly with the cat she held in her hands.

"Now, are you lost little one?" he questioned to which she merely shook her head as a negative. "Oh, then where are you heading?" he questioned curiously as she prepared to answer.

Charle however jumped out of her hands and spread her wings as she leveled herself in front of Naruto. "I don't think we should answer to that." She said sternly. Talk about overprotection.

Shaking his head and sighing slightly he stood up and looked down at the cat, which to his surprise flew up in front of him, once more staying at his level. "Well I thought that if you weren't lost you'd help me out a bit since I am the one lost." He admitted as the cat rose a delicate eyebrow.

"You?" she questioned curiously "Lost?" he could feel that Charle wanted to laugh at his predicament, however the cat merely shook her head as it flew back a bit.

"Yes, I was heading to Master Ichiya's Mansion and this forest…is a bit too much for me." He answered as the girl suddenly perked up.

"That's where we are heading too." She said enthusiastically as the cat flew next to her and slapped her paw on her lips telling her to keep quiet and not tell the blond.

However it was too late as the blond had heard it and chose to kneel down once more and talk directly to Wendy. "Would it be possible for me to accompany you there?" he questioned before looking up to the cat and smirking slightly. It was not like she would see it behind his helmet "You don't have to worry, I don't bite." He joked as the cat merely glared at him.

"Charle!" Wendy suddenly cried out as she took the cat in her arms. "I don't think Naruto-san is a bad person." She berated the cat on her actions towards the blond before looking up at him and nodding with a shy smile. "You can come with us, Charle will show us the way." She said as Naruto stood up and bowed before her.

"Many thanks Wendy-chan." He said making the little girl blush slightly and stutter.

With no way of convincing her otherwise Charle flew up in the sky and started scanning the area before flying back down and telling them in which direction to go.

The trip towards the mansion had been very quiet. Naruto had tried to stir up some conversation but the little girl barely spoke so most of his talking was done with the cat. The little he could get out of it as well as she was very untrusting of him, kept on believing that he would turn on them any moment and despite all that she never raised her guard while they walked through the forest.

He had to admit that although the cat could be annoying, more so than Happy at times, he did enjoy talking to it and with the little girl. He learned that they were from a guild called Cait Shelter and that they were supposed to meet with the representatives of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus to make an alliance to stand against the dark guilds.

He was surprised to hear that and more surprised that Makarov did not tell him this or include him. Maybe it was because he had left before he had the chance to tell everyone or maybe the master thought that the blond wasn't ready for such a feat. It didn't bother him too much, after the battle with the S-class mage three days ago he knew that he wasn't quite up for the challenge.

As they reached the mansion the little girl walked forward and opened the door, he could hear the commotion inside dying as the girl introduced, he looked to the side and noticed that Charle had vanished as well, most likely went inside to introduce herself.

With a small smile he walked inside the mansion as well just as Wendy proclaimed that she knew a lot of support spells and asked them not to leave her out completely. He chuckled a little as he stopped next to her and patted her on the head drawing everyone's attention.

"That's the spirit little one, everyone is of use to the greater good." The petite girl blushed at him before looking away.

"Naruto? Where are you doing here?" the knight in questioned looked up and saw team Natsu there, Erza looking at him curiously clearly not expecting him to show up.

"Ah, master asked me to deliver a message to someone in Blue Pegasus but apparently the one I was supposed to deliver it to had left the guild and came here…so…here I am." He laughed as the master of Blue Pegasus walked forward and smiled in a very strange way.

Naruto was taken aback a little as the man motioned for the letter. With a nod he took it out and offered it to the man as he looked over it. A few seconds later he laughed and handed it back to him.

"My dear boy, this is for you." He said making the blond gape as he took it and looked on the envelope. True to the man's words it was addressed to him from Makarov, but that was impossible, when he first scanned the letter it didn't say to who it was addressed.

As he looked up the master in front of him could clearly tell the confusion in his eyes. "Open it." He instructed as Naruto did just that.

He took the piece of paper out of the envelope and began to read it. A minute or so later he dropped the envelope on the ground in shock.

Everyone moved closer, curious as to what made the blond so shocked but none of them could actually read what was on the letter. Erza frowned as she looked at the blond.

"Well? What does it say?" she questioned impatiently, time was of the essence, they couldn't dwindle around.

Naruto looked up at her and laughed nervously. "Well, it looks like I'm supposed to join this alliance of yours and play the role of a scout and long range support." He laughed as the girl extended her hand motioning for the blond to hand her the letter.

He did just that and allowed the redhead to read it for a few minutes before she nodded, a smile appearing on her lips. "Welcome aboard Naruto." She said handing him the letter back.

The knight thanked her and took the letter, pocketing it and then looking around. Everyone started introduction themselves, at the end Naruto introducing himself as well. Not long after that they started discussing their plan of attack, though Naruto only paid attention to half of it as his mind drifted as to why Makarov wanted him to partake in such a mission.

If it really went down and they had to fight S-class mages he would need to use his magic, was Makarov so sure that no one would be afraid when they saw what he could do? He already knew that his guild mates would not push him away or fear him, but the rest? He wasn't that sure.

As he looked towards Erza he saw her giving him a reassuring look, it calmed him a bit knowing that she trusted him. With that he paid attention to the meeting trying to soak in all the information he could.

They needed to defeat the dark mages before they could attain _Nirvana, _a magic with immense destructive powers. That didn't sound well in his mind, if dark mages got their hands on it who knows what kind of damage they would do to Earthland and if anyone would be able to stop them at that point.

He then watched as Hibiki proceeded to introduce them to the enemy, the members of the dark guild they will most likely encounter. He studied each member carefully, listening to what they could do and making a note on them for himself. Cobra, a user of poisonous snakes, Racer, a mage with speed magic, Hoteye of the heavenly eyes, Angel, a woman who can see through your heart, a woman named Midnight and their leader Brain.

He had never heard of any of them, it just went to show how little he actually knew about mages and the world of magic in general. His eyes narrowed as he turned down the man's speech and looked towards the Blue Pegasus guild master. The man had left a few minutes before his explanation to the bathroom and just now he felt something strange about him.

Feeling a gaze on him the man looked around until he spotted the blond and gave a cheesy smile. As everyone raced out of the room Naruto stood behind with Ichiya and Jura. He stared at Ichiya as the man merely raised an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong my boy?" he asked in a sort of sing-song voice. With narrowed eyes he unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the man's throat.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Jura shouted as he prepared to fight.

The blond narrowed his eyes. "This man…he smells funny…" he growled out as the man in front of him began to sweat.

"Oh…it must be because of the perfume I used." He laughed as he took out a small bottle and waved it in front of him with one hand up as if surrendering.

Jura sighed in annoyance. "Perfumes again?" he asked as Naruto lowered his sword a bit and let his guard down a little. Before anyone could react the man opened the tube and a strong smell rose out encompassing them. Jura began to struggle to stand up as the blond fell on one knee and growled.

"What is this smell?" Jura questioned as Naruto felt his arms and legs giving up on him.

"A magical perfume with the ability to remove the opponent's ability to fight…apparently." Ichiya said with a grin.

"Ichiya-dono! What is the meaning of this?" Jura questioned once more as Naruto looked up.

"He's not the same Ichiya!" He shouted with all his powers as his second leg gave up and he was supporting himself only with his sword. Before Jura could react to the news however the impersonator jumped forward stabbing the mage in the stomach with a dagger.

Jura shouted in pain as he dropped on the ground, unable to move. They both watched in horror as the man in front of them vanished in a small explosion of bubbles and instead of him stood two strange looking dolls that could seemingly talk.

"We're back~!" one of them shouted. "Whew~!" the other exclaimed as they landed on the ground and began talking how disgusting Ichiya was and that he thought only about perverted stuff.

Their conversation was cut short as a woman walked inside. "What…?" Naruto stammered as he looked at her, remembering who she was from the description Hibiki gave.

"How…?" Jura asked as the woman merely smirked and began to explain where the real Ichiya was. If that wasn't enough it seemed like they knew their plans right now.

In shock and without any power to stand up Jura dropped on the ground. "I won't let you interfere little children of light." The woman said in a deathly tone as she turned to face the still struggling blond. "And what is this? Still standing?" she questioned walking up to him.

"You bitch…" he rasped out as she snarled towards him.

"That is no way to treat a lady." She growled out as she stepped on his foot making him growl in pain. He moved to grab her leg only to have his hand give up.

"That's a pretty sword you have there, an ex-knight?" she questioned as she took the sword from the blond's hand making him fall flat on his face. "My…the sigil of the now dead castle Kimos, a lonely survivor…" she said to herself in mock amazement. "…well…not anymore." She whispered deadly as the blond felt his sword stab him in the back.

He shouted in pain as he felt his stomach being pierced. "Be a good mage and die here, I will kill your friends and you can join them in the afterlife." She told the blond as she walked out of the mansion.

Naruto gasped for air as he tried to move his hand towards his back, trying to grab the sword. He looked around, trying to see if there was anyone in the mansion, anyone that could help them. He spotted Jura, laying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood and from the looks of it, dead.

A growl escaped his lips, there was no way he would be defeated like this, there was no way he'd let that woman win just like that. But his strength was leaving him, he felt his eyes closing and just as he was about to succumb to the darkness he heard soft steps approaching him.

"Who's there?" he rasped out looking around with blurry vision, he saw someone approaching him; he could only see their feet. Judging by the soft frame it was a woman, she was barefoot.

"_Dear me…look at what the woman did to you."_ She spoke in a soft tone, a cold breeze seemed to sweep over him as she spoke. He could feel strange powers radiating through said breeze and from the woman herself.

"_You can't fight like this nor can you leave this world in such a manner."_ She spoke, her tone now gentle and carrying warmth that he had never felt before. It was a strange feeling but the warmth he felt was misplaced and seemed uncharacteristically. An undertone of danger lingered in the tone, his muscles tensed as if in fear from the woman.

"_Here, let me help you."_ She spoke once more as he felt her pull out the sword from his stomach. He gasped in pain as he felt the sword being pulled out, his heart beating fast, not wanting to give up.

He tried to look at the woman once more, moving his hands in front of him and trying to push himself up but with no success. _"That strange perfume is still affecting you and you are still bleeding. Hold still, I will help you with that."_ She whispered gently sending shivers down his spine, this woman, it gave him an uneasy feeling and at the same time it relaxed him, it made him feel safe.

Without a warning he felt himself lifted up from the ground, the women held him up. It was now that he could clearly see her. A young woman, no older than twenty-five, dark green eyes, dark green lipstick on her lips, long silky smooth green hair and…his eyes widened slightly as he noticed she was completely naked, her hair covering her breasts.

A sly smile appeared on her face. _"I'm glad you like what you see, but we have no time for that."_ She said making the blond blush and look up hazily at her. It was now that he noticed two strange markings on her cheeks, something that seemingly resembled the whiskers he used to have but at the same time very different and that her eyes were not normal; they looked like a pair of cat eyes.

And yet, despite all these strange features he felt secure in her arms, he felt protected and that everything would be alright. Suddenly she was enveloped in a strange green aura that shot out towards him; he gasped at the sudden surge of magic invading his body and felt cold, really cold. As if he was in Death's embrace. But then, the cold became warmth, he felt warm and felt his wound closing, his magic returning to him and his vision returning to normal.

After several minutes the magic died down and she released her hold on the blond who dropped on his feet, she was taller than him by half a head. Looking up at the strange woman he could see a small smile on her lips as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"Who are you?" he questioned curiously, staring into her eyes. It seemed like they were sucking him in, he felt himself getting lost in them, into a void of nothingness. As she spoke he snapped out of it.

"_Who I am is of no importance…for now."_ She said in a calm and warm voice, once more the breeze blowing around them. Whoever this woman was she radiated immense power, this wasn't someone he'd want to mess with. _"For now, know that I am your ally…my little reaper."_ She smirked slightly as the blond's eyes widened in both confusion and fear.

"Little…reaper?" he questioned as the woman's smirk never vanished from her lips. She moved closer to him, her face mere inches from his.

"_Know this Naruto, there is a time when you may die…but today was not it. There is much that you need to do and there is much that you need to do for me as well."_ She told him as she pulled back and took a few steps back. _"For now, you must go…your friends are in danger…"_

He looked at her, not understanding what was happening, not understanding what she said or meant. Then his eyes widened as he heard her say that his friends are in danger, he remembered that the dark guild knew of their plan now and if his training taught him anything it was that once you know the enemies plan you can go two ways. Prepare for their attack and surprise them…or just attack them and surprise them.

As he prepared to leave he heard the woman speak once more. _"Do not die young one, there is much left for you to do in this world."_ She spoke, but before he could question her the woman vanished. As he turned to face her he realized that she wasn't there anymore, the spot where she used to stand was now empty.

He spared a glance towards Jura, the man was unmoving. A scowl appeared on his face, someone died and he couldn't do anything to stop it. Turning around the blond ran out of the mansion, calling his shadows in the process and ordering them to find his guild mates. It didn't take long for them to find them and rely to the blond where they were.

With renewed vigor he pressed forward, he had a score to settle.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Brain looked at Wendy with amazement before he smirked in victory. "What's wrong Brain?" Hoteye asked as he looked towards his leader.

"It's definitely her, the Sky Sorceress…" he said with a massive smirk on his face. "Looks like I've picked up someone valuable." He whispered as a black tendril shot towards the girl grabbing her.

Wendy screamed in fear, half way towards her new destination a sword slashed the tendril destroying it. She felt someone grab her and jump in the air landing several feet away from the enemy. The girl looked up in fright, her fright vanishing as she noticed who it was.

"Naruto-san!" she shouted with joy in her voice as she began to tremble, realizing that she had been mere seconds away from being captured.

The blond looked down at her through his helmet and smiled. "Worry not little one, no one will take you on my watch." He said as he placed her down and patted her on the head. The knight then walked forward in front of her, shielding the girl with his body.

"Hmm…I thought I killed you back in the mansion with the other two." Angel suddenly spoke making the Light team's eyes widen at the news.

Wendy looked up at the blond in fear as she grabbed his leg, not believing that the man in front of her almost died. "It will take more than a backstab to kill me." He smirked as he moved his sword to the side and glanced down towards Wendy. "You will have to let me go, try to help everyone and get somewhere safe. I will fight them." He proclaimed.

Angel laughed as she heard that, Erza looked at the blond in pain and rasped out. "Naruto, they're all S-class…you must run." She said as the blond glanced towards her.

"I can see that, and they must be really strong if they took you all out, especially you Erza." He mumbled as he took a step forward and magic burst around his feet. "That is why I cannot run, I must give you time to recover and get somewhere safe. This is not where I will die, so do not worry about me."

Angel mock clapped at the blond's speech. "My, that is an interesting speech you have there boy, is that all you can do? Bore us to death with your words?" she questioned as the blond narrowed his eyes and looked straight into hers.

"You have a strange name lady…" he spoke "…being called after a divine being and yet being on the side of darkness…" his magic erupted around him encompassing all of his body.

They all noticed his armor starting to deteriorate, his sword changing form, a ripped cloak appearing on his back and a cowl starting to cover his head while the helmet vanished. Then he spoke in a hollow voice, a voice that Natsu, Gray and Erza had heard before. At that moment they realized what the blond was going to do.

"_If such is the case then I must be the unholy being on the side of light…"_ he spoke as his sword turned into a scythe, the cloak completely covered his feet which seemed to vanish. It looked like he was floating in the air. Then they noticed the skeletal hand holding the scythe, his left hand had a worn out gauntlet. _"…it is my duty to stop you." _

His hollow voice sent shiver down everyone's spines. _"You shall not harm anyone ever again!" _he howled as he let out of a frightening battle cry and vanished from his spot only to reappear seconds later in front of Angel with his scythe ready to strike.

As he swiped towards the woman she jumped out of the way, the attack missing her by mere centimeters. She could feel the blade on her skin, it was sharp, really sharp.

"Angel!" Cobra shouted as he growled towards the blond and moved to attack.

"Let me handle this…" Racer suddenly said as he placed his hand on the man's shoulder and vanished in mere seconds, not wasting any time. He reappeared behind the blond ready to deliver a kick, what he didn't expect however was for his opponent to turn around at lighting fast speed and grab his leg, the blond slammed the man on the ground with as much force as he could muster leaving a massive crater in his wake. The man gasped for air as he felt it leave his lungs from the impact.

"Racer!" Cobra shouted and charged forward towards the blond, not wasting any time. "**Poison Dragon's Twin Fang!**" he shouted while moving his arms forward in a cross, forming a very large amount of poison in two massive waves shaped like fangs that shot towards the blond at high speed. Once more the knight turned towards his new opponent taking both his attacks directly and getting pushed back slightly.

He shook his head as he wailed in a hollow voice and shot forward, his new target acquired. Raising his scythe he appeared above Cobra and lowered it once more, his opponent jumped out of the way as he called out the next attack. "**Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!**" a magic seal appeared in front of him, a wave of poison shaped like a snake's head with large fangs sprung forward.

The blond spun around with lighting speed and moved his scythe in a swiping manner; the two attacks collided as his scythe had been caught by the snake head biting into it.

With a smirk Cobra prepared another attack. Once more he moved his arms forward in a cross unleashing another attack of poisonous fangs towards the blond. The knight's head snapped up as he moved to the side and extended his left arm grabbing the attack with his skeletal hand and stopping it in its track.

The dark mage made a double take on that, he took a step back in shock as the mage before him turned to face him and lifted the attack up, above him and closed his fist. The magic shattered and flew towards the mage, becoming one with him and vanishing.

"He is more dangerous than I had anticipated." Brain stated as he watched the blond with critical eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" Cobra screamed turning towards Brain and losing sight of the blond.

Before anyone could react a cold shiver went down the mage's spine as he heard the blond whisper. _"Bad move."_ Turning his head around he saw his enemy in front of him, at least that was the last thing he saw before his skeletal hand grabbed him by the head and lifted him in the air.

Cobra began to scream as a purple aura began to surround his head and the mage's hand. He felt like his magic and life was being drained from him, he felt like he was loosing his powers with each second that passed.

"Don't just stand there! Help him!" Angel shouted as Racer stood back up and charged forward towards the blond mage.

As he reached his target he jumped up in the air and delivered a flying kick; his opponent released his grip on Cobra as he dropped down on the ground avoiding the attack. With a swift motion he turned around and stood back up delivering a magically enhanced punch in the mage's gut, sending him flying away once more.

Turning around Naruto focused on Cobra once more as he was coughing for air; he summoned his scythe once more and moved closer to his prey, he had no intention of killing the man, but he would make sure he wouldn't be able to move for the next few weeks. As he raised his scythe and prepared to attack he felt a massive surge of power approaching him.

In an instant the blond turned to the side and moved his scythe in front of him just as a beam of darkness collided with him. He struggled to push it back yet it seemed to be far stronger than he had anticipated, he was slowly getting pushed back by the beam.

"Strike now!" he heard someone shout as he felt a kick connect with his face, breaking his concentration. The beam of darkness pushed his scythe away and connected with his body sending him flying away in a nearby, ripping it in half from the impact.

The mage shook his head and growled as he move back up. "Just how strong is this guy? He should have died from that attack!" Angel shouted once more in pure anger as she glared towards the blond.

"He won't stay up for long anymore!" Cobra growled out as he unleashed another wave of attacks. The blond charged forward, side stepping the attacks and moving closer to Cobra who began to tremble. He knew what was going to happen if the mage got too close.

His eyes narrowed as he saw the scythe form into his opponent's hands once more. Once more the beam was shot, it raced past Cobra taking him by surprised. The blond however was not as he stopped in his tracks and succumbed in the ground just as the beam was about to connect with him.

They watched as the blond vanished from the sights, becoming one with the ground. They looked around, trying to figure out from where he would pop-up next.

Before anyone could react the blond emerged from the ground behind Cobra and moved his scythe behind him. With a swift motion he slammed the blade in the dark mage's back earning a scream of pain. If that wasn't enough he stomped the mage on his right leg, breaking his knee. Finally, he pulled out the blade earning another cry of pain and kicked him away.

"You…you…" Racer was beyond frightened at this point; a mage of the light guild doing something like that was unheard of. "What are you waiting for, attack him!" Angel shouted towards Gemini as he came out of her shock. Her spirits seemed to be cowering in fear at what they had witnessed. "You useless shits, attack him!" she shouted as the two spirits nodded and moved forward.

They assumed the blond's strange form and raised their own scythe to attack. Feeling the imminent danger the knight spun around and raised his scythe above his head, blocking the attack. He howled making the copy-cat spirits take a step back in fear; he then charged forward slashing once towards them. The spirits managed to block the attack with their own version of his scythe and moved in to attack once more.

Before they could reach him the blond unleashed another ghostly wail creating a shockwave that shot out all around him. The spirits were thrown away, crashing on the ground at their master's feet and their spell dispelling. Angel looked at them in disgust and then towards the blond as she prepared to take out a few coins.

"Useless spirits, can't take down a lowly demon." She growled preparing her next attack only to feel Hoteye's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't…" he mentioned towards Racer, as she looked she noticed the man was holding Cobra on his shoulder. Looking back up at the man she noticed his hand was in front of him now, two fingers in a V form. His eyes then snapped open. "**Liquid Ground**" he called out as the ground around the Light Team and Naruto began to move in all directions, encompassing them.

"We've dallied here enough. Come." Brain ordered as the dark tendrils shot forward once more grabbing Wendy and dragging her away. She screamed in fear as she tried to grab hold of Charle, managing however in grabbing Happy and vanishing with Brain.

The blond desperately tried to cut the ground and move in to save Wendy, yet he had no such luck and then he noticed his allies not fairing very well. Glancing once last time towards his enemies he turned around and moved towards his allies; he began cutting the ground in an attempt to save them.

When it finally seemed like it was over and that the ground began to retract they could all feel a massive pressure coming down on them. Looking up they noticed the blond staring at the sky as a massive wall of sand came crashing down.

"Take cover!" someone shouted as the blond raised his scythe preparing to strike at the attack. Just as the attack was about to hit he noticed Jura dropping down in front of him.

"**Iron Rock Wall!**" he called out, pillars of rock shot out of the ground spotting the sand from coming down on everyone. With one gesture he then destroyed the attack and canceled his own, the ground fell down harmlessly.

Everyone shouted in surprise as they saw him, they then noticed that the enemy had vanished during this final attack.

"_You're alive…"_ the blond's hollow voice resonated around them as Jura turned to face the blond. They saw the blood stain on his stomach and several bandages covering it.

"That I am, I was in critical condition but managed to survive." He stated, looking directly into the skull's empty eye sockets through the cowl.

As if on queue the Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus team moved in front of Jura in a defensive position. While they were glad the blond had appeared when he did they did not know what kind of power he had and what kind of danger their ally could pose.

"There is no need to fear him." They heard Ichiya who appeared in the clearing. "Makarov already told me about the _Knight of Fairy Tail_. He's harmless towards his allies." The man stated as he walked forward towards the blond and scratched his chin. "But I do apologize, that name is not fitting at all…oh no." he said as everyone raised an eyebrow.

"_Why so?"_ the blond's voice echoed.

Ichiya chuckled as he took out a vial and opened it. "I do believe the name, _Reaper of Fairy Tail_ is more fitting in your current form." He said as he turned around "Now everyone, bathe in my pain relieving perfume." The man stated going into a strange pose as everyone seemed to be getting back on their feet.

As they were all standing back up the knight levitated towards his fallen comrade, Erza. He noticed that even after the perfume started taking effect on everyone she was unaffected and still in pain.

The girl looked up with pained eyes at the blond's reaper form. And yet, instead of seeing the skeletal figure she saw the blond staring back at her, everything else around the blond was a blur.

"Naruto…" she rasped out as Lucy heard her and came rushing to her side.

"Oh god, please hold on Erza!" she shouted drawing everyone's attention and stopping the bickering that was going on between Natsu, Gray and Charle.

"How can my pain relieving perfume not be working?" Ichiya shouted frantically as Erza opened her eyes once more and stared at Lucy. Without a warning she grabbed the girl's belt making her pants drop and shout in surprise at the same time.

The redhead tied the belt to her arm, right below her shoulder and dropped a sword on the ground. Biting down on a handkerchief she sat down with a determined look in her eyes as she demanded for her arm to be cut off. While everyone from Fairy Tail denied the request and tried to stop her, Lyon grabbed the sword and moved forward to strike.

As the sword descended a scythe stopped it half way along with an ice encased fist. Gray looked for a second at the blond and gave a small nod of appreciation before glaring at his old friend.

"_There is no need for this…"_ Naruto's voice rang out as Erza appeared to be passing out. He moved towards her and grabbed her in his arms as he placed his skeletal hand over her forehead and a mixture between green and purple light appeared around his hand and her head. _"…it is not much, but it will keep you safe."_ He spoke, his voice wavering a little as the girl started breathing normally yet she was out cold by now.

The blond hovered away towards a nearby patch of grass and gently lowered the girl down as Charle explained that Wendy would be able to fully heal Erza. With that piece of information everyone formed a plan of attack and to save the sky dragonslayer. In mere seconds they all vanished leaving Naruto alone with Erza, Lucy and Hibiki.

Naruto stood floating above Erza in his reaper form, he had been holding said form for the past hour. If he wasn't worried about his comrade he would have been amazed at how much he made it last.

Lucy stood next to him, looking over Erza while Hibiki monitored everyone's movement. "Naruto…" Lucy suddenly spoke while looking up at the blond, slowly. "...what exactly did you do to Erza-chan?" she questioned as Hibiki paid attention as well.

"_Merely gave her a bit of my power, the little that I gave her will try to fight off whatever dark magic is residing in her now. It will not harm her or her magic."_ He reassured the blond girl who merely smiled in return.

"You'd go that far for your friends?" she questioned knowing that in the past there had been some argument between the redhead and the blond next to her.

Naruto wasted no time in nodded. _"She's family…and family look after each other." _He replied as he looked up, as if sensing something.

Before Lucy could speak again the blond fell to the ground, sinking in it and vanishing. She looked at the spot where he vanished in shock and then towards Hibiki who seemed to be searching for something frantically. His eyes widened however when he couldn't find what he was looking for. _"He cannot be tracked?"_ he questioned himself.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Gerard walked through the forest, many memories flashing through his mind. He came to a halt as a black puddle appeared in front of him. "Uzumaki Naruto." He mumbled as the reaper form of the blond knight appeared in front of Gerard, it wasted no time in moving its scythe at the man's neck who stood tall, not wavering for a second.

"_I knew I recognized that power surge…"_ his hollow voice echoed around them _"…the man responsible for my suffering, the man responsible for the deaths of those close to me and the one responsible in making my family suffer."_ His voice held no emotion as the mage in front of him never wavered at the tone or his words.

"Naruto…" he spoke once more as the blond moved his scythe back and prepared to decapitate the man. His attack stopped midway however as he dropped down in pain. His cloak began to vanish, the decay around his armor began to vanish and his scythe returned back to its normal form.

In mere seconds instead of the form of a reaper stood the armored blond, panting. He had exhausted the time he could spend as the reaper of Death; as Gerard prepared to move Naruto shot up, his sword pointing at the man's throat. The man merely glanced down at the panting blond before touching his sword and lowering it.

Naruto could only watch as the man walked next to him and then left, vanishing in the forest. He fell on the ground, completely exhausted.

"Damn it!" he shouted to the heaven's. He had been so close to ending the life of the bastard, why was he even here? Was he working with the Dark Guilds? He had always assumed that the bastard had died with the tower, yet here he was, living and breathing.

The knight raised his hand up to his face and covered his eyes, listening to the world around him and trying to recall his powers. He could still feel a vast reserve boiling deep down inside of him. He might have exhausted all the power used to sustain his reaper form, but there was still enough left to go around.

Just then he felt something poking him and his eyes snapped open as he moved his hand away. He stared at the girl above him which smiled happily. "Master! You're still alive!" she chirped out as she dropped on top of him, hugging the life out of him.

"Sirena!?" he shouted in surprise not understanding what the vampire was doing here.

The girl moved back a little as she smirked. "Well…it looks like you really made a show out there, I'm amazed at the kind of power you have master."

His eyes widened as he heard that. "You've been watching me this whole time?"

Her silver eyes gleamed with mirth as she nodded enthusiastically. "I would have jumped in to help, but it looked like you had it all under control…that is until you vanished and I had to track you down again." She pouted, which completely destroyed the image of a monster from legends.

"Why are you here?" was the next question he asked and her face lost all joy, opting to adopt a more serious look.

"Father has been trying to track you down for all these years, tried to track me and the rebels as well…having no success on both accounts he sent out vampires all across the nations to join various dark guilds and assist them in an attempt to lure you out." The white haired vampire explained to the blond as she stood up and extended her hand towards him.

The blond gladly took it and stood back up on his feet. "One of said vampires is here, working from the shadows and planning on using the Nirvana for something far worse than the dark guild is trying to achieve." His eyes shot up at that; that was not good news, not at all.

"What can be worse than that?" he questioned as the girl merely shook her head.

"Its best you don't know, however he is trying to…" she was cut off as a massive beam shot in the sky. Her eyes widened as she turned to face the blond "…it's started!" she shouted as the blond narrowed his eyes.

With all of his strength he stood up and picked up his sword. "Lead the way to that vampire." He ordered as the girl nodded and jumped up in a tree, making her way towards the beam of light with Naruto closely following her.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Naruto ran as fast as he could, jumping inside the beam, he had lost track of Sirena just moments ago. He looked around frantically trying to find the girl and spotted something else. His eyes narrowed as furry took a hold of him. The knight charged forward towards the shadow and moved his sword to strike. With a swift move he slashed towards his target.

The attack was parried by a magical blast as he was pushed back from the force. He looked up, growling at his target. "Gerard." He growled out, the man turned to face him with the same dead eyes he had faced him in the forest, no expression on his face.

The man that ruined his family, that ruined his second life and then almost ruined his third one, the one responsible for the pain that he had caused Erza and the pain that he had caused his own adoptive parents.

"Die!" he howled charging forward, forgetting why he was here in the first place. Once more a barrier appeared between them as soon as he tried to slash him. The blond didn't give up as he charged again, slashing furiously, throwing waves of magic attacks towards the man who seemed to parry them effortlessly.

"Why…" he slashed once, the attack getting parried "…won't…" he slashed a second time adding magic to his attack, once more it had no effect. "…you die?" he slashed a third time sending a shockwave of magic that cut everything in its path down, only the man stood unwavering in the middle of the beam.

Naruto growled in annoyance once more as he charged forward, he slashed, the man moved his head back a little as the sword stopped at his throat. The knight's eyes widened as he looked beyond the man who in turn turned his head towards the newcomer.

"Naruto? Gerard?" Erza questioned in shock.

"Gerard, Gerard…" the man mumbled drawing their attention. "You keep calling me and I keep remember two names…Erza…Naruto…" he stammered looking between the two, his eyes now holding despair. "Who are they? Who are you? Who am I?" he questioned in despair taking the blond and the redhead off-guard.

Naruto lowered his sword a little before growling. As he was about to move again a figure appeared behind him. "Master! I found him!" Sirena called out "We need to hurry, he is starting the ritual!" she exclaimed, worry evident in her voice.

The knight growled as he moved back, he looked at Erza who gave him a reassuring nod and a small smile. With one last glance towards the man that almost ruined his life he vanished in the light, as much as he hated leaving the man standing he had a mission to complete. He had to protect everyone even if they had no idea what was actually happening.

It didn't take long for all hell to break loose, a massive tower rose from the ground, in a matter of seconds it began to move making the blond's struggle to reach his target all the more difficult.

"Master!" he heard Sirena call as the ground underneath him crumbled and he found himself falling. That is until a hand grabbed him, he looked up and saw the girl in question holding him as her black wings kept her in the air.

Gritting her teeth the girl flew upwards, dodging falling stone until they reached the final level where she dropped the blond. He immediately stood up and looked up, taking a step back he extended his arms as the girl crashed down in them. She looked exhausted, but he couldn't understand why.

With a small smile she looked at him. "Well, if I had known that master is this kind I would have crashed down sooner." She giggled.

Naruto adopted a neutral expression as he dropped the girl on the ground. She yelled in protest before getting back on her feet and rubbing her butt. "That was mean." She moaned, she was a very strange person in his opinion.

"Where is this guy?" he questioned as the girl pointed towards a door at the far end of the platform.

"The ritual is performed in there." She stated, he didn't wait for any invitation as he walked forward, sword in hand.

Sirena looked at his retreating form and then towards the massive platform a few steps above them where a battle seemed to be raging. She then looked back towards the blond and saw him entering the temple, without a second thought she ran after him.

The knight looked around as he entered the building. Many paintings decorated the walls, portraying different events that might have happened in the past or could happen if whatever the vampire was doing came to fruition.

As he came closer to the end of the hallway he found himself at the entrance of a massive circular room sustained by multiple pillars. In the center stood a claw like hand holding an orb, behind the orb stood a man in his late thirties with dark green hair and brown eyes. He wore a black mage robe with red stripes and on his back he saw a massive greatsword.

The man looked at the blond and smirked. "Well, well…it looks like leader was right. Joining dark guilds did lure you out boy." He spoke in a dark tone completely ignoring the massive chunk of ceiling that fell behind him.

Naruto realized that his allies were here as well, fighting the dark guild most likely.

"What are you doing here? What is your mission?" he questioned as the man started chuckling.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" he inquired as he placed his hands on the orb. "You see…this place holds many powers. While its main power is to swap light with darkness it has a second power." He looked up towards the blond with a sinister look in his eyes. "It can suck the life force and magic out of anything and create creatures of unimaginable powers."

The knight took a step back in shock and looked towards the girl next to him. She nodded, confirming what the man said. "How do you think Vampires came to exist? Out of thin air?" the man questioned with a sinister laugh. "Do you know how many people died to give birth to us? Do you know how many more will die now to give birth to a whole new race?" he shouted in complete glee.

Naruto grit his teeth as he prepared to charge. "However…" the man started as he took out a familiar dagger. "I still need time…so do have fun playing with my new servants." He called out as he raised the dagger in the air and a blinding light shot up; it moved towards the ceiling where it dispersed into multiple rays which moved towards the ground.

As they hit the ground portals began to open and wraith's s appeared out of them, fire, ice, wind and earth wraith's. A total of thirty in number.

The knight tensed as he looked around, the odds were not in their favor. With a grin however he extended his left hand forward and raised his palm to the sky. A green lighting shot from the ceiling and hit his palm, it then shot through his hand and into the ground electrocuting it as multiple skeletal hands shot up. In mere seconds a small army consisting of fifty skeletons stood around the blond and the white haired vampire.

"And now the odds are even…" he smirked as the vampire merely scoffed.

"Finish them my pets!" he ordered as the wraiths charged forward.

"Kill them all!" Naruto ordered as the skeletal army charged forward crashing with the elemental attacks.

He spared a glance towards the girl who hung her head in shame. "I've fought him a few days ago and lost…in my hurry to retreat I lost the dagger…" she admitted as Naruto merely nodded.

"At least you're safe." He said making her blush slightly and watching him as he charged forward crashing with a fire wraith and taking it down in one swing of his sword.

Sirena wasted no time in charging forward as well, entering combat with the wraith's. The vampire in charge of the creatures merely scoffed at their attempt. He moved his hands over the orb, channeling magic into it and chanting.

The floor illuminated, a short burst of blinding light shot upwards stopping both Naruto and Sirena for a second. The girl looked around in horror before shouting towards the blond mage. "You have to stop him, he is powering the orb!"

With a nod Naruto sheathed his sword and called out his half nodachi. He charged forward jumping over a fireball and then over the wraith that shot it; landing on the ground he vanished from his spot in mere seconds only to reappear in front of a frost wraith.

With a swift motion he unsheathed his blade and reappeared behind the wraith which crumbled on the ground, cut in half form the head down. Sheathing his sword he charged forward once more, his eyes set on the vampire.

In a matter of seconds he appeared above the vampire, startling him as he stopped chanting and forcing him to jump away. The vampire growled as he looked towards the blond. "You human's, always interfering in someone else's business." He growled out unsheathing his massive sword.

The knight smirked as he replied. "It's what we do best." He vanished once more only to reappear in front of the vampire who looked at him with wide eyes. With a fast motion the blond unsheathed his sword and slashed the vampire, cutting his chest.

His enemy however was not down for the count, in the last second he managed to move back, the sword only grazing his chest. _"So fast, I never expected him to have this kind of speed." _He thought to himself as he readied himself for the second strike. Once more he was taken off guard as the blond appeared to his side and pain washed over his body, a cut appeared on his side as blood sprayed out.

Without wasting any time the knight stopped behind the vampire and prepared his final attack. His eyes narrowed however as the vampire let out of a blood curling battle cry and spun around dragging his massive sword with inhuman speed. Thinking fast the blond unsheathed his normal sword and brought it to his side to parry. The massive force of the attack sent him flying in the wall and crashing through it.

He groaned as he stood back up and jumped out of the hole, charging forward once more and sheathing his normal sword. The vampire smirked as he brought his sword down, stabbing it in the ground. A bubble appeared around him, the blond collided with it. A powerful force threw him back, making him roll on the ground from the impact.

Once more he stood up, shaking his head and looking at the strange defense. With narrowed eyes he lowered his right hand, holding the half nodachi and lifted his left hand up as a green fireball appeared in his hand; he hurled it towards the strange dome. Upon impact the fireball exploded, yet the dome was undamaged.

This made his eyes narrow as he noticed the vampire returning to the orb and restarting his chant. A plan then appeared in his mind as he turned towards the white haired vampire. "Sirena, go a floor below and destroy the ceiling in which the sword is stabbed!" he shouted as the girl looked up towards him, dodging a fireball. With a nod she jumped in the air and did a back flip, landing behind the skeleton lines. She rushed out of the door as Naruto charged the incoming wraiths.

He prayed that the girl would reach the floor beneath fast, he could see power emanating from the orb. He didn't know how long they had until the orb was fully powered.

The blond ducked under a sword as he stabbed the wraith in the chest and send a wave of energy into it, making its entire body explode. He looked at the orb one more time and saw cracks appearing in the floor. With a smirk the knight charged forward and just as the ground underneath the sword collapsed the blond appeared behind the vampire, stabbing him in the heart with his sword.

The vampire coughed out blood as his eyes widened, he then looked down at the orb and laughed. "You're…too late…" he whispered as the life vanished from his eyes and his entire body was engulfed in flames, his ashes falling on the floor at the blond's feet.

The wraiths suddenly stopped their attack as the dagger the vampire was holding dropped on the ground with a loud thud. They shook for several seconds before dispersing in a multitude of different colors.

The knight stood on alert however, the man's last words didn't bode well with him. He saw the orb pulsing and he narrowed his eyes. The blond looked around, trying to figure out where Sirena was, he needed her to tell him how to stop this power, or whatever was going on.

Without a warning the orb started pulsing faster and faster, his eyes narrowed as his heart started beating faster. There was no time to waste! Without a second thought he raised his sword and lowered it down onto the orb, shattering it.

A loud crashing sound echoed in the room as pieces of the orb started dropping on the ground. Then a powerful blue and black beam shot up towards the ceiling, ripping it completely.

Naruto took a step back in fright, his sword still stuck in the shattered orb and his hand attached to the sword's hilt. Then several tendrils shot forward towards him, wrapping themselves around him and piercing him through his body. He cried out in pain as he felt like his very life was being sucked out of him.

It was at that moment that Sirena appeared, her eyes widening in fear at what she was seeing. "Oh no…we can't be too late." She mumbled.

Then, everything died down. The tendrils released the blond and retracted to the shattered orb as if vanishing. The light in the room slowly died until only darkness surrounded them.

Naruto looked up in wonder, he had no idea what just happened or if they had succeeded.

Then, a circle of light appeared at the orb's remains, a light blue circle. It illuminated the chamber once more. He looked up towards the vampire and noticed that she didn't know what was happening as well, she was just as shocked and confused as he was.

Then, as he looked back down he noticed something strange. An armored figure began to rise from the light. Yet, the light seemed to encompass the figure, or better yet, it seemed like the figure was one with the light.

It slowly rose from the ground in a kneeling position, then it slowly stood up and extended its arms in the air before letting them drop next to its body. The light at its feet vanished, yet his entire body glowed in the same light as the circle before it did.

He took this moment to study the strange figure. It looked like a man, as old as he was, wearing an old samurai armor. Strapped to its back was a katana if he wasn't mistaking.

Naruto looked up at the figure as it extended its hand and a book appeared in its palm. The book opened as the figure began to search for something. It then stopped as it looked up towards the blond.

_"Uzumaki Naruto…"_ it stated as it looked up towards the blond. He said nothing nor did he move. The knight in question watched as the figure closed the book and it vanished from its hand.

_"I am the spirit of vengeance; your name appears in the book of guilty."_ It stated as the blond's eyes widened.

"What? Why?" he asked.

_"I do not know the reasons, I only respect the laws enforced upon me. Prepare yourself."_ It said as it unsheathed its Katana.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Erza took a deep breath as she prepared to move towards her new target, she looked towards Gerard to his side as he prepared to do the same and Wendy who had a look of confidence in her eyes.

An explosion suddenly grabbed their attention as they saw a strange beam of light firing not far from their location in the air, it died down as fast as it appeared. She looked towards the mage next to her hoping he knew something but he was just as perplexed as she was. Then another explosion followed and as she looked towards the sky she noticed something moving towards them.

With wide eyes she jumped to the side as something crashed in the ground making a hole. Moments later her guild mate, Naruto jumped out of the hole pulling a sword out of his shoulder and throwing it away.

"What the?" Gerard started only for something to crash down on top of the blond, both of them falling through the ground one more time. Moments later they burst out of the ground several feet away from their location, the knight spun around throwing whatever he was holding towards one of the buildings making it collapse from the impact.

He landed on the ground and panted, looking towards the remains of now destroyed building. "Son of…" he rasped out as he assumed a defensive position. Moments later a figure jumped out of the wreckage.

She didn't know what it was, the person wore an ancient armor, his body was composed out of a light blue aura, in fact, it seemed like the person itself was the light blue light. Looking towards the blond she saw the fury in his eyes, the confusion in his eyes, all of it direct towards the unknown entity.

"What's happening?" she questioned yet the blond did not reply, instead he charged forward raising his sword and then lowering it on top of the entity. Said entity raised its own sword above its head, paring the attack. The two started fighting each other with their swords, slashing and paring each others attack in perfect unison, their speed going up at times. It was like Naruto was fighting his own clone, it knew every move he made, it knew every counter he made.

The knight jumped back as did the strange figure, they stared at each other as a booming laughter echoed around them. Everyone looked up as they saw the Nirvana began charging up to fire.

_"It seems as if another one is present in this area."_ The figure spoke once more, looking through the book it had looked before. It then closed the book and faced the blond once more.

With wide eyes the blond looked back towards it as it charged forward. With a swift motion he ducked under the strike and thrust his sword upwards to stab the enemy. What he didn't expect was for the entity to grab the sword and use it as a means to evade the attack by spinning to the side. As it dropped mere inches from the blond knight it raised its sword to strike once more, only this time the attack was parried.

Naruto growled as he moved his face closer towards the entity which mimicked him. They both channeled their energies into their swords and jumped backwards, as they were about to unleash their attacks against each other the Nirvana began to shake furiously making them loose their bearings and fall on the ground.

Shaking his head the knight looked up straight towards his opponent, grabbing his sword he stood up and charged forward slamming into the clone and through several stone walls, vanishing from the group's sight once more.

After being pummeled through several layers of stone the entity reacted; it grabbed the blond's arm and slammed him on the ground making a small crater. It then tried to punch him, yet before he could do anything the ground underneath them gave in and both of them fell through the floor. They both landed in the middle of a dark room, the only light sources coming from above them and from the entity itself.

Shakily standing up Naruto shook his head as he glared towards his opponent which did the same thing. As he prepared to attack once more the shadowy figure seemed to change colors to red, if only of a brief second. It lowered it head and mumbled something before looking back up at him with blood red eyes. Gritting his teeth the knight assumed a defensive position as the figure charged forward slashing with the katana towards him.

With a quick parry he moved forward while charging a green orb in his left hand, slamming it in the opponent's chest and pushing it backwards from the explosion. The figure shook its head as it looked up just as the blond lowered his sword on top of its head. The attack connected but had little effect as the figure grabbed the sword and pulled it out of its head, punching the blond in the stomach as it did so.

Naruto rolled on the ground and as he came to a stop immediately turned his head towards the enemy. He jumped out of the way as the katana came crashing down on top of him. Finally, the mage jumped back on his feet and moved both of his hands to the side creating two green fireballs which he hurled towards his opponent.

The figure charged forward, slashing the attacks and destroying them in the process. His eyes widened as he jumped back to avoid the attack. Two flaming skulls appeared next to him as they charged towards the figure, it dodged them and destroyed them in the process making the blond mage scowl.

Just as the figure reached the blond and prepared to lower its weapon on top of him another tremor shook the structure making it loose its balance and giving the blond time to react. He jumped forward slamming into the figure and making it drop its weapon.

Once more the structure shook as the blond lost his balance as well and fell to the ground, the structure then dropped to the side and both of them helplessly slid down towards the side wall. The structure them repositioned itself, with stability underneath their feet the two jumped back on their feet and began forming nearly identical fireballs, one green and one purple in the blond's hand and one red and one blue in the figures hands.

A purple chain formed in Naruto's hands, a green chain formed in the figure's hands as they both threw it towards each other at the same time, connecting with each other's body. Naruto grit his teeth as he felt his power being drained from him but at the same time the entities power being sucked into him. They were in a complete deadlock, each of them sucking the power from the opponent and loosing their power to the opponent at the same time.

"Master!" a shout suddenly resonated from above them as they both looked up. Sirena jumped down in the room holding the dagger in her hands. She charged forward towards the figure which narrowed its eyes.

Before she could stab it the figure spun around and attempted to kick the vampire out of the way. Yet the vampire was faster, she managed to grab its leg and grinned as it stabbed it with the dagger in the leg.

A ghostly howl echoed around them as the figure attempted to break free from her grip. Her eyes widened as the figure used her weight for stability and moved his other foot towards her, hitting the girl in the head and freeing itself. It then turned towards the blond and pulled the chain making him stumble forward but not loose control over his own chain.

The figure looked down at the dagger and grabbed it, yanking it free from its leg and turning its attention towards the downed vampire. Sensing what it was planning the blond released his chain and charged forward drawing the attention of his opponent as it no longer felt its power being drained.

By the time it turned to face the blond he was already in its face, a green fireball connected with its face, exploding and sending it flying towards the back of the room. The figure released its hold on the chain, no longer able to sustain the spell.

"Sirena!" Naruto called out as he ran towards the girl. The vampire merely rubbed her head in annoyance.

"My apologize, I did not expect it to react like that." She said as she looked around for something. "The dagger!" she exclaimed as she looked towards the middle of the room. "You can destroy it with the dagger!" she shouted as the blond looked towards it location and then at his opponent who was staring back at him.

With narrowed eyes the blond spun forward, at the same time with his clone. The two reached the dagger at the same time and as both of them attempted to grab it the structure shook once more dropping to the side.

All three of them slid to the left side of the wall, slamming into it. Shaking his head the blond looked up towards the figure which looked at him, in between them was the dagger. Summoning his nodachi he charged forward, slashing towards his opponent which parried the attack with the same weapon.

As he continued his assault on the clone he managed to move closer to the dagger, close enough to use his right foot to throw it up towards him. The figure narrowed its eyes as it pressed forward, letting the nodachi pierce its chest and grabbed the dagger just as the blond did.

For the fourth time the structure shook, falling on the opposite side. The two fell to the ground, their swords dropping on the ground and rolling away, the dagger still held firmly in their hands.

Naruto glared towards the clone as he moved forward and punched it in the face. He then rolled to the side, behind it and turned the dagger's tip towards the opponent as he started moving it forward. The figure attempted to fight, using all its might it elbowed the blond in the chest with all its might, yet the blond didn't give in.

"Just die already!" he shouted as he pushed the dagger in the figure's throat. A ghostly howl echoed around them as the light was absorbed into the dagger which fell on the ground.

With a sigh the blond crashed on the ground, relieved that it finally ended.

His eyes however nodded as he felt the structure shake and the ground underneath him collapse.

"Oh shit…" he shouted as he fell through the rubble with the structure right above him.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

He looked up towards the massive structure as it was crumbling and then looked behind him as the ground was getting closer. Pieces of stone of different sizes fell all around him, a plan formed in his head as he directed his body towards the closest stone.

Extending his hands he grabbed hold of the stone and pulled himself closer to it, then he looked up and narrowed his eyes as he saw another one, even bigger, moving towards him at great speed.

Quickly, he placed his feet on the stone and propelled himself away as the two collided in mid air. He spun in the air and turned to face the next stone, grabbing it and jumped on top of it.

With a grin he jumped to the side as another stone collided with the one he used to stand on, he dived towards the next one.

As he was about to reach it he felt something; turning his head slightly he noticed yet another stone moving towards him. With all his strength he did a mid air spin, dodging the oncoming threat.

Once more he turned to look down and as he prepared to dive down faster towards another piece of stone he felt something grab him.

"Don't worry, I got you!" he heard Sirena shout as he felt himself getting pulled up and then away from harms way.

She flew them in a nearby clearing, out of harms way. As she set him down a sigh escaped the blond's lips. He was exhausted after everything that had happened.

"Glad that's finally over…" he mumbled as the girl before him shook her head slightly.

"I'm afraid its not." She stated drawing his attention. "It's only the beginning for what the vampires are planning, we might have stopped one of their plans, but how many more do they have?" she questioned as she looked towards the horizon.

Naruto couldn't help but nod at that, he hadn't known that the situation was so dire; he hadn't realized that the vampires were capable of such things.

"What's the plan then?" he questioned looking back up towards the girl.

She merely smiled as she looked back towards him. "I will continue hunting for information, try and figure out what their next move is. When I have something I will contact you."

He nodded at that. Before he could say anything he felt her presence disappear and as he looked up he noticed that he was alone in the forest.

Or so he thought.

A circle of light appeared before him, the same one that appeared in the chamber. He watched as the same figure from before rose up and immediately unsheathed his sword.

As the circle vanished from underneath the figure it looked towards the blond and extended its arm. The book appeared in its hand once more.

_"I do not know what happened…"_ it stated in a hollow voice as it flipped through the page. _"…your name, is no longer in the book."_ It said making the blond drop his guard slightly. _"In fact, the book is empty…why…?"_ it questioned looking up towards the blond.

He did not know how to answer that question. He didn't even know who this spirit was, what it actually wanted or was after.

Sensing this, the spirit shook its head as it seemed to sigh. _"So this job is over…I can finally rest in peace?"_ it asked looking up towards the blond, expecting him to answer.

_"No…"_ it shook its head as it closed the book and pointed towards the blond _"…you have answers to questions left unanswered…yet my time here is over."_ It lowered its hand as it started to slowly vanish away. _"I have been defeated by you, I have lost that which gave me an honorable purpose in my existence…I have decided that you will give me purpose in the future. When you need me, summon me, call for my spirit and I shall assist you. But please, I desire honorable deeds, I am not a wraith."_ It finished as it vanished before the blond, leaving him more confused than he already was.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail.**

******A/N (Ch16 original A/N): ** I'd like to know if people want a more Naruto-ish Naruto, if so, I will attempt to slowly change his character and bring a more _joyful_ Naruto to the scene (not to the extreme, rather a perfect balance between happy and serious sort of personality - kinda like his Shippuden version but not clueless and more serious when needed)

**A/N: **"Rewriting" this chapter (as in adding the new scene) made me happier than it should have. I've realized yesterday that I was holding back a lot and stagnating with my Naruto to the point where it got annoying. As such I decided to revisit this chapter and add the extra scene and restart his character progression in terms of power. By the time we reach Tenrou Arc he will be S-class strong. By the time we finish Tenrou Arc he will be at the power level I envisioned him after the prologue arc was complete. But no, he won't be godlike, he will be strong, really strong in fact, but not godlike so that no one can defeat him. He will still have weaknesses...and do slap me if I ever do some sort of _out of the ass _power boost.

**Demon's Curse – Chapter 16**

A skeleton walked through the forest, its hollowed eyes scanned the area as if trying to find something. It looked at the remains of the tower and walked towards it, stopping at the entrance and looking around, trying to see if someone was spying on it. As it turned around to face the entrance once more it came face to face with another one of its kind. The two stared at each other; with no facial expressions to show it would have been a though job for anyone to decipher what they were talking, what they were doing or why they just stood there.

It looked as if they were having a conversation of sorts, as if one was reporting for the other. They then broke contact and looked towards the sky as the clouds moved away from the sun, the light bathing the small clearing they were in. The sounds of birds singing soon followed by numerous bells that rang around town soon engulfed the area around them.

A small yawn echoed from inside the tower, the skeletons looks inside to the sleeping figure as it winced from the sunlight that fell on his face. With a groan the young man turned to the side, trying his best to block the rays of sun from disturbing him. It worked as it seemed like the young man fell asleep once more, his light snores barely audible through the constant singing of the birds.

They looked away from him and turned around facing the stairs where a green cat stood. It stood watching them, as if judging them. Its eyes pierced through their skulls, through their imaginary eyes and into their remains. As if communicating with them the skeletons turned around, the one that previously resided in the tower turned back and merged with the shadows while the patrolling skeleton turned around and walked back into the clearing, moving left and right in front of the entrance, guarding it.

No one ventured into these parts of the woods; a strong spell had been cast months ago, any civilian and any mages up to S-rank would be succumbed in a sense of dread with each step they took closer to the old abandoned tower. There were a few that could enter, a few that were trustworthy, those that were part of the family. By now they all knew what resided in this part of the forest, they all knew this was where the young knight rested in the evenings.

If he was not on missions he would train here, he would rest here and only return to the guild when he was done. In the mornings he would leave home and head towards the guild, check the board for missions, if none interested him he would go and train only to return in the evening to spend time with his family before returning back home. It was the daily routine for the past few weeks.

"Ugh…what's with all those bells?" the young man questioned as he stood up, the never ending rings of the bells were getting on his nerves. The small feline sensing that her master had woken up stood up and ran towards him, jumping in his lap. It meowed drawing his attention and the usual pat on the head.

"How is a man supposed to take his afternoon nap with all those bells ringing like there's no tomorrow?" he questioned while standing and allowed the feline to assume its usual position on his shoulder.

As he walked out of the tower the patrolling guard stopped and turned to face its summoner; his annoyed look made the skeleton question itself what had riled him up. Unlike the living, they could not hear anything more than a few sounds and even those only up to a certain distance.

The young blond stretched as he walked to the edge of the clearing, overlooking the town. It was too far away for him to see what was happening, it didn't look like there was any sort of danger coming from the town however. With a shrug he turned around, wanting to return to his the tower.

"Naruto-san!" he heard a high pitched voice and turned to face the skeleton, with a nod of his head the skeleton sunk into the ground, vanishing from the clearing. Looking towards the tower he knew that the second one had also vanished, it was nice to have some sort of precaution.

Finally, the ex-knight turned around to face the person calling him. A little girl with long dark blue hair ran up the hill towards him, a smile on her face as she waved towards him.

The blond dismissed his helmet as he smiled towards the little girl, over the past few weeks he had been assigned to work with Wendy, help her get accustomed to the guild, the town and the missions they would receive. He had done more missions with her in the past weeks than he had done with anyone else in Fairy Tail.

They ended up working together mostly because Wendy seemed to feel more secure around him, despite the events that had transpired during the Nirvana mission and the frightening form of his that she had seen, the girl wanted to know the blond more and wanted to work with him.

Despite all that, there had been some things the blond hadn't revealed to her. The majority of his power was still a mystery to the little girl, he thought that it was for the best she did not know the full extent of his powers, she was still too young in his eyes and even though she showed signs of maturity on different occasions she was still just a child.

One thing perplexed him however, it seemed like the barrier placed around the tower was not affecting her in any shape or form. The first time she ventured up here she took the blond by surprise; he had not expected her to find this place or to find him. She was sent by Makarov to find him and have him return to the guild to receive a special mission, the first one he and Wendy went on. It was mostly for him to assist Wendy on her first low ranking mission, to make sure nothing happened.

Usually they were placed in teams, but Naruto and Wendy had no definite teams. Naruto had helped several teams and worked with them, but he was mostly a solo player.

"What brings you here Wendy?" he questioned as the little girl finally reached him, she was out of breath and panting heavily.

"I came to tell you…that an old member of Fairy Tail is returning." She said between breaths as she looked up at the blond "Mirajane-san wanted you to come and meet him, I think his name was Gildarts."

The blond's eyes widened, he had heard of this mage, even before joining the guild, while he was still serving with the Royal Guards and as he looked towards the town, he wondered if the bells we're a sign that the man had returned.

He had to admit, he felt a bit jealous, the man was getting a town wide welcome back.

With a smile he looked towards the girl and thanked her, but said he would not go to the guild as he wanted to resume his training.

This peaked the dragonslayer's interest, the blond was still a mystery to her; there was a lot she had yet to learn about him. Even though she was fairly new to the guild she had managed to learn a great deal of the mages that are part of Fairy Tail, she had even learned of the fact that Mirajane and Naruto were closer than most people. That and the look in their eyes as they talked with each other or just stared at each other, it was something else.

She didn't know what it was, she had asked around but the replies varied. Some joked, some we're cryptic and some made her more confused. Asking either of them why they looked at each other like that gave her different replies as well. Naruto stammered most of the time, blushed and looked away while scratching the back of his head and tripped over his own words; and Mirajane…she only smiled and told her that to her Naruto was someone special and that when you have someone special you look at them differently and act differently with them.

Again something that didn't quite answer her question and left her more confused.

But she didn't try to figure it out anymore as something else had captured her attention. During one of the missions she had done with team Natsu she had realized that her powers could be of greater use to the team, to her new family and yet she didn't know how to train and how to become stronger.

Her first option had been to question her fellow dragonslayer, but each of their training methods didn't seem to help her as much as she hoped. Both of them we're focused on head on attacks, or pure combat and not support while her spells were mostly support based. She had tried to look elsewhere then, but back then she didn't know many members of the guild. Mirajane however told her that if she wanted to train she could ask Naruto for help and when she did the blond had looked at her like she was crazy.

He tried to explain that he himself didn't know how to fully control his powers and that he wouldn't be the best option for a teacher to her. As she returned with the news to Mirajane, the girl, instead of telling her to ask someone else or to offer herself as her teacher merely marched to the blond and somehow convinced him to teach her.

And thus he started training her, everything that he learned from the master of the guild and the girl he loved he passed it on to the little girl. He tried his best to explain to her everything she needed to know and how to control her powers and in a matter of days it looked like the girl was improving more and more.

This took the blond by surprise as he was not expecting to actually be able to help her, to teach her something of value. This gave him confidence on two things; he knew now that everything he had learned was right and that he could pass on his knowledge to others and help them grow stronger.

During his time with the Royal Guards he had assisted in training several rookies, but never with any great success. They didn't perform as he had hoped, in fact they performed below average. Because of that he had never thought that he would be able to train someone.

"Ne, Naruto-san, can I train with you as well?" she questioned sweetly, placing her hands behind her back.

With a smile the blond nodded as he motioned for the girl to come to him. She did as she was told and walked next to the blond as he sat down in a meditative position. Wendy followed suit and sat down next to him.

"Alright Wendy, we will resume our meditation training today." He stated as he closed his eyes and allowed the flow of magic to surface. "This time I want you to slowly release more and more magic and control it as it moves around you." Naruto said as he demonstrated by unleashing a larger wave of magic and making it move around him, finally forming the head of a dragon which stared at the amazed girl before vanishing and returning to the blond.

He looked towards her as the girl closed her eyes and did what the blond did. She slowly allowed her magic to emerge, creating a thin line around her. As she allowed more and more to escape the line intensified until it started moving in different directions.

"Good, now grasp on to that power and guide it in a path." He commanded as the girl concentrated even more, the magic around her suddenly stopping and then moving around the girl's body in one direction, at a slow pace.

"Good, now maintain this control as you slowly release more." He said as he remembered the old master's teachings. "This will help you in controlling your magic so you do not use more than necessary for your spells. If you have better control over your magic you can cast more powerful spells whenever you desire." He explained as he too closed his eyes and relaxed.

This was their daily routine. While Naruto could not help Wendy to unlock more attacks and moves he could help her perfect her control and unlock more reserves for her to use. It was the first thing he had learned in both life's, the past one and the current one. It was something he could easily teach and perfect once he understood the basics for them.

Today was a bit different however; it was one of those days when Charle didn't accompany Wendy. He had nothing against the cat, but he felt like the feline was too overprotective of the girl and didn't trust him too much. It might have been because she saw more of his power than Wendy had and the fact that he kept it a secret from them with the rest of the guild didn't seem to bode well with the feline.

But it was all for a good reason, Wendy had to learn in time, she needed to get accustomed to her new environment, to the people around her and to him. But the latter didn't seem to be a problem, for a reason he did not know she looked up to him.

There were a lot of strong mages in Fairy Tail, a few of them were stronger than him. Usually the S-class mages outmatched him in power and experience and he saw them as better teachers for this job, but the girl looked up to him. It gave him a sense of pride and it also made him protective of the little girl, he felt like he needed to watch over her.

Thus he had never been bothered by the fact that he had done so many missions in the past weeks with her. He was happy to work with her. It felt like he had a little sister and that made him happy.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

If there was one thing Naruto wasn't good at it was holding his composure when around Mirajane. After his return from the Nirvana mission he had started dating the girl, it was no big secret that it was bound to happen, everyone seemed to know it was going to happen…everyone apart from him at least. And it wasn't so much of a secret in fact since the next day the tabloids were all over the subject and each time he walked through towns the different glares or stares got to him.

The male population that had a crush or fantasies with Mirajane hated his guts, while the female population that had a crush or fantasies with him stared in a love-struck daze at him. His life did a complete one-eighty that he had never expected.

But what Naruto considered the hardest thing was to present his girlfriend to his mother. While Aleandra had figured out from day one that the white haired mage had feelings for her son she wasn't too surprised when he walked hand in hand with her in the house. It was like she had expecting them as food had already been prepared for at least three people.

Even though Mirajane was a mage and went on missions from time to time, she and his mother got along really well. The two talked freely about subjects that the blond didn't really pay attention, only joining in their conversations when asked about how they first met, about the missions they had been in and how Naruto treated the girl.

He was the subject of constant tease when the two were together, Aleandra enjoyed to finally tease her son once more after all these years, she also enjoyed seeing the cheerful look in his eyes when he was with the white haired mage.

"How about this Naruto?" Mirajane questioned as she stepped out of the dressing room in a rather fancy white dress.

He tilted his head to the side as he thought for a few moments. "I admit, it looks really good on you and matches your hair perfectly." He answered as the girl smiled sweetly and turned around walking back in the dressing room.

Today he had went out shopping with his mother when he had met Mirajane doing her own shopping. All three of them ended up going together to different stores until Mirajane dragged the blond into a clothing store stating the she had been looking for a new dress and wanted the blond's opinion.

"You know son, Mira-chan seems happier with each passing day." His mother stated as she walked next to the blond, several bags in her hands, all filled with different groceries and some with clothes.

"You think?" he questioned with a confused look on his face as the mother stared at him. "I haven't noticed…" he admitted as he thought back to the times he saw Mirajane smile and interact with him.

The mother merely shook her head with a sigh. "I swear, at times you can be really dense." She said drawing another confused look from the blond. "If I hadn't told you to ask her about that problem a few days ago you would have never noticed."

He grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It can't be helped, some things just fly past me."

"For your sake I hope that important events don't fly past you…" she deadpanned as the mage walked out of the dressing room in her usual attire and headed towards the counter to pay for her new dress.

"I'm not one to forget important events, you know that mother." He said while staring at his girlfriend.

"Oh? Should I remind you of the time you forgot your first anniversary? Or the time you forgot about your father's birthday? Or the time when you forgot to lock the castle stable doors which resulted in all the hoses running through the castle's courtyard and…"

"Ok, ok, I get it." The blond stopped her with an embarrassed look. "I forgot some…"

"A lot…" his mother corrected as the blond gave a small glare.

"A lot of stuff…but you can't blame me! I was still inexperienced!" he argued, yet the woman only gave a triumphant smirk.

"Ok, I'm done here!" Mirajane said in a cheerful tone as she approached the two, the smile on her face never fading.

Naruto nodded as he offered her his hand. With a giggle she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled closer to the blond as they walked out of the store.

"So tell me Mira-chan, how are things in the guild?" Aleandra questioned "Naruto here doesn't really talk about such things."

"Things are going great, Naruto even has an apprentice now." She said as the mother looked towards the blond in amazement.

He merely shrugged as he explained the situation with Wendy and how he was helping her control her magic, to use as much as she wanted during a fight.

"Why haven't you told me about Wendy-chan up until now?" the mother pouted. "She sounds like a sweet little girl."

"She is." Mirajane said as she embraced the blond's arm. "Can you imagine having a daughter like her?" she questioned the blond in a sweet tone making him flush at what she was implying.

"Oh? I wouldn't be bothered having a lovely grandchild…" the mother said as she looked towards the blond a large grin on her face.

His mind raced, processing the information and giving him different views of what had been said, the majority of them being rather colorful.

"I didn't know you could blush like that Naruto." His girlfriend said in an amazed tone as the blond turned and gave her a weak glare.

All that he received in return however was laughter from bother her and the mother. He hated when they played with him like that, while it was all fun and games he didn't like the embarrassment that came with them.

Nonetheless, he enjoyed spending time with them and watching them interact. He knew that his mother was rather lonely at times, having no friends in this town and no one to talk to at times other than him and Mirajane.

She would often spend her time in the living room sewing or in the small garden he had made for her on top their balcony. He had promised himself that he would raise enough money to buy a house with a garden as his mother had always enjoyed growing flowers and tending to them, he wanted to give her something that she enjoyed doing.

The atmosphere in the house at times was rather solemn, in was quiet with few words spoken between them. He came home tired and late at night when she was already asleep, they could only talk in the mornings before he left and he would get a glimpse at her, at her weary figure. She looked lifeless at times, a far away look in her eyes.

But whenever he was with Mirajane that look vanished from her eyes, the smile that he had seen since the day he met her would appear and it looked like all her worries vanished.

At times he noticed that Mirajane suspected something. It was mostly because he never talked about stuff that happened at home with her and he too had a faraway look in his eyes when thinking about home. Thankfully she never pressed on the matter and always changed the subject.

As they reached Naruto's home his mother bid farewell to the girl and her son, he was going to accompany his girlfriend to her house and then return. It was a slow day at the guild and they had taken a day off from activities.

"Have you met Gildarts?" she questioned as they walked through the street.

He gave a small nod; the man was a sight to behold, a firm grip when they shook hands. In fact, he felt like his bones had shattered from that handshake, the man possessed incredible strength.

"Tell me Naruto, what would you say if I were to live with you?" she suddenly asked making the blond stop walking.

Mirajane looked at him strangely as the blond gapped at her question with a large blush on his face. "What's with this all of a sudden?" he questioned as the girl giggled.

"We've only been dating for like…a month…" the blond stated as Mirajane's smile grew bigger.

"So?" she questioned once more grabbing his hands. "Does that have to be a barrier?" she asked curiously as Naruto blinked, not knowing how to reply to that.

Her smile then vanished as she looked down at the ground. "I'm also asking because I could feel the mood each time I stepped into your house." Naruto said nothing as he watched her. "There's this sad feeling lingering around, both of you are affected by it and it hurts each time I think about it." She looked up towards the blond as he said nothing, merely looked back at her.

The knight closed his eyes as he replied. "It's true, I can't really place it but she seems really sad most of the times, always having a far away look in her eyes and I can't do anything…" he opened his eyes and looked at the girl before him.

She knew what he wanted to say and gave a small smile as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Think about it…" she said as she let go of his hands and took a step back. "Besides, think of what we could do if we were together…at night…" she gave a wink making the blond flush once more.

With a laugh the girl turned around and walked inside her house, not before blowing a kiss towards the blond who still stood rooted in the same place, processing what she had told him.

A smile creped on his face as he shook his head. She really enjoyed teasing him.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

It looked up towards the sky as the heavy rain drops fell on its helmet. its thoughts wandered back to the past, remembering all the battles it had been part of, some of the more dreaded ones being during rainy days such as these.

Then it looked back down towards its opponent, the man that had no honor whatsoever when fighting with someone. The light blue colored spirit shook its head as it stood back up on its feet and looked towards the blond mage that had summoned him.

The knight stood still, looking towards the dark mage with calculating eyes. _"It seems as though many mages here have no honor in battle. Attacking one when bowing towards your opponent." _The spirit shook its head as his summoner merely scoffed at what it had said.

"There is no such thing as honor among the wicked." He replied back as their enemy merely raised an eyebrow at that and then turned to face the spirit.

"Honor means nothing on the battlefield, honor is given to the dead only." He replied in a calm voice as he moved his hands to the side. "However I do apologize for that, I had been taken by surprise by your sudden appearance." He finished as he bowed down slightly as the spirit had did towards him.

The spirit shook slightly as if laughing before narrowing its eyes and charging forward at great speed. His opponent stepped to the side as the spirit neared him and then delivered a powerful strike in its back, making it collapse on the ground.

He then turned around and ducked under the knight's attack as he moved his hands forward towards the chest, a great mass of energy forming in his palm. Yet before he could unleash it the blond knight grabbed his hands and kneed him in the face.

Shock was written all over his face as he saw the blond's sword falling to the ground. He had read the reports on this mage, how he fought from a distance with magic and only with his sword in close quarters, never abandoning it. To see him drop his sword and fight barehanded, he was not prepared for that attack.

As he fell to the ground his attention was drawn towards the spirit which attempted to slam its foot down on his face. **"Bleve"** he said extending his hand towards the oncoming attack. The area engulfed in an explosion, sending the spirit flying away.

His attention was then drawn back towards the Fairy Tail mage only to see a chain connect with his feet. With a grin, Naruto pulled the chains and the man with them, he spun around several times before releasing the man which flew towards a massive rock formation. However, instead of hitting the rocks, the man spun in midair and landed with his feet on the rock; he used his newfound advantage to propel himself forward, towards his opponent.

Noticing the attack, his opponent drew his sword forward and turned in upside down, slamming it in the ground. Several ghostly hands shot from the ground and moved to grab him. After passing a few of them he felt one of the hands managing to grab his leg; loosing his speed he crashed on the ground face first. A scowl appeared on his usual stoic face as he looked back towards the hand.

He then felt an immense power build up and turning to look back at his opponent his eyes widened as the knight before him held his hands up above his head, a large green fireball forming above him. In mere seconds the fireball grew twice as big as its creator and was unleashed forward.

A maniacal grin formed on his face as the fireball hit its target, exploding and burning the entire area around it.

As the fire slowly died down Naruto assessed the situation, he looked towards the small crater that his attack had created and a frown appeared on his face. His opponent was not there, the attack was strong enough to incapacitate the majority of mages, maybe drain the power out of S-class mages and rendering them unable to fight, forcing them to either surrender or retreat.

His opponent had vanished however.

"_It's not yet over, he is still here."_ He heard the spirit say as it walked next to the blond. It touched the ground lightly with its sword and hummed a strange melody. _"Below us."_ It said as it jumped backwards, soon followed by the blond.

As he did that several roots burst from the ground flailing in all directions as if searching for him, as if they had tried to grab him and hold him in place.

Then the roots stopped flailing and a face formed at their tip; slowly a body pushed itself out of them. The dark mage opened his eyes and looked towards the blond and his spirit partner. A grin present on his face.

"You are a worthy opponent boy." He said as he snapped his fingers.

With narrowed eyes both Naruto and the spirit looked down as roots shot from the ground. As they prepared to defend themselves the roots bulged and exploded all around them.

If that wasn't enough one of the roots shot forward in front of the blond, striking him and exploding at the same time. He was thrown away in another set of roots which began to bulge. Once more the roots exploded covering the entire area in smoke.

As the smoke died down the mage noticed his opponent had not been damaged by the second attack. He had hid himself inside a green dome of some kind and as it slowly vanished the blond stood up, moving his sword to the side.

With narrowed eyes Naruto channeled magic into his sword which caught fire, his ally shot forward from the first plum of smoke and as it got closer to the dark mage he swiped the air in front of him with the sword unleashing a green lighting towards the mage.

With swift movement the mage moved his hand forward as a thin shockwave shot out in a straight line towards the spirit which dodged it by jumping to the side. As the lighting attack passed the spirit, above the shattered ground, an explosion encompassed the area nullifying the blond's attack.

However, the spirit persisted as it shot forward from the smoke in front of the mage. It raised its katana to strike only to have the mange raise his hands up and parrying the attack with them; he then kicked the spirit in the side making it loose focus, then attempted to roundhouse kick it.

The spirit was expecting it however, it turned to the side grabbing his leg and at that moment the blond knight shot forward from the smoke, his left fist encased in a deadly green aura.

The spirit released his leg mere seconds before the attack connected thinking the enemy would not have enough time to react. He did however as he moved to the side, grabbed the knight's hand and slammed his elbow down on the mage's arm, making him shout in pain. He then turned around and raised the blond in the air, preparing to slam him on the ground.

Everything happened in just a second, the spirit had not been prepared for that, the blond however was expecting something to happen and while in midair he spun around and used his body weight to fall behind the dark mage.

He ensnared the man with his feet and spun around once more together with the man, falling down from the strange tree like podium that the dark mage had created.

They feel from several feet in the ground, their impact forming a small crater.

Then two figure shot out of the smoke in different directions. The spirit jumped down towards his opponent while the blond mage summoned his sword back and charged forward as well.

The dark mage looked towards both sides as his enemies approached. His grin reappeared on his face and he began to tremble in delight. It had been such a long time since he had faced such a powerful enemy, he would have to thank the master for finding the information on the blond mage and telling him where to be if he wanted to intercept him.

As the two got closer he moved his hands to the side, a maniacal grin on his face as he shouted out. **"Tower burst!" **

Naruto's eyes widened as a massive pillar of fire shot forward catching both him and the spirit.

The dark mage laughed as he looked towards the location his opponents should be. "Come on, I know this wouldn't harm –" his words were cut off as he felt a sharp pain on his face. He dropped his hands and brought one up to his cheek. He felt liquid in his hand and as he brought it in front of him he saw the blood.

Looking to the side he saw the blond knight, his armor half burned and his sword dripping with blood. He then felt another sharp pain in his side and grit his teeth as he stumbled backwards, noticing the spirit in front of him, its blade also dripping slightly with blood.

One of them had cut his cheek while the other had cut his side. The pain began to subdue as adrenaline began to pump in his system, the grin reappearing on his face.

He jumped backwards as he raised his hands in the air and looked up. The ground began to shake as numerous trees shot up all around the blond and his ally. The clearing they fought in was now filled with trees.

"Come on boy, is that all you can do? A few scratches and bruises?" he heard the dark mage shout as he felt a presence closing in fast from the side.

Turning around he brought his sword up parrying massive fist formed out of a tree's bark from what it seemed. He was pushed back a lot, not being able to hold his ground against such brute force.

Glancing towards the spirit he noticed that it was busy cutting down numerous fists that shot from different trees in all directions. The dark mage was trying to distract the spirit so he could fight the blond one on one.

His eyes widened as he felt another power surge from behind him. Glancing behind his eyes widened further as he saw numerous small explosions moving towards him at great speed.

He dropped to the ground allowing the fist to move forward and rolled to the side. Jumping back on his feet he turned his sword upside down and slammed it on the ground, he quickly assumed a kneeling position as the sword pulsed once and a green dome formed around him.

As the explosions encompassed his dome he felt yet another power surge, he was unable to maintain the dome further than that. It died as the last explosion passed him. With quick movement he jumped to the side avoiding a branch that had appeared out of nowhere.

He turned around as another branch shot forward almost piercing his back. Once more he turned around and swiped the area in front of him cutting down three branches. With a growl he ducked under another attack and jumped backwards as another one almost hit him.

It was at this moment that he attempted to run away from the attacks, to try and find the mage and the source of them. However, as he ran through the forest and looked back he saw the branches gaining up on him and numerous more appearing from the trees, he couldn't outrun them and couldn't outmaneuver them like this.

Thinking fast he dismissed his armor and sheathed his sword, unsheathing his nodachi. He stopped and ducked under several attacks and shot back, running back to his previous location.

The mage jumped over attacks, ducked under them and side stepped them at great speed. He cut his way through them as he tried to spot the dark mage. Yet with each step he took it seemed like the branches were never ending, appearing over and over again.

"Enough!" he howled as he came to a stop and dropped his sword, slapping his palms together and closing his eyes.

An immense power surge shot forward, encompassing the blond. In mere seconds a light green explosion, almost transparent, shot forward catching every tree, every branch, every living thing in its radius and decaying it.

The trees, the branches and even the grass underneath died at rapid pace. They crumbled to the ground, shattering and turning to dust.

As the attack died down Naruto opened his eyes and fell on his knees, panting. The attack took a lot out of him, his body was weary after such a powerful attack. A clap resonated around him as he looked up and saw the dark mage standing a few feet away from him.

"Such power, amazing what you can do. Its no wonder master wants you out of the picture." He said with the grin ever present on his face. "I'm afraid its time to end this." He said as he shot forward.

As he was about to reach the blond the spirit jumped in between them, grabbing the man's fist and delivering a punch in his chest. It then jumped up and delivered a roundhouse kick making the mage take a step back.

"_You forgot about me."_ It stated as it assumed a defensive position, readying its fists.

As the blond looked towards the spirit he noticed that it was badly injured. While it could not die if it sustained too much damage it would vanish from this world for some time, he would be unable to summon it back for a certain amount of time. He also took note of the fact that it was no longer holding its katana in its hands, most likely it had broken during its previous battle.

"I see you are still standing as well…" the mage said looking towards the spirit in a stoic manner. Then the grin reappeared on his face. "But not for long."

He shot forward at great speed, his fist connecting with the spirit's defense. It spun around grabbing the mage's arm and twisting it, only a growl escaped his lips as he spun around as well kicking the spirit in the head with his foot. He then turned around and moved his palm above it.

As he was about to unleash his attack he turned around and stepped to the side as a sword passed by him. He jumped away as the blond attempted to slash him one more time.

Once more the man moved his hands to the side and then clasped them together. From the dead ground leaf's suddenly shot up, moving around the man at amazing speed. He grinned as he beckoned the blond to attack.

He wasn't a fool, he knew that spell was not just for show. The confident grin on the man's face said it all.

"If you aren't going to come to me, then I will to you." The dark mage suddenly said as he dashed forward making the blond's eyes widen.

He jumped backwards mere seconds before the mean reached him, he felt the leaf's cut him and as he looked at his hands he saw the numerous cuts they did to him in that fraction of a second.

The man grinned wider as he dashed forward once more. Knowing that he could not fight the man like this Naruto summoned his armor back and took the attack head on. He parried the man's fist with his own. He heard numerous leaf's attempting to cut his armor, they merely bounced against it.

This made the blond smirk as he unleashed a flurry of punches on the dark mage, finishing with a kick to the shin. The kick however was blocked by the man's leg as he swiped the blond's own attack leg, making him fall on the ground.

Once more roots shot from the ground, ensnaring the blond.

The spirit shot forward as well; expecting this, the dark mage extended his hand towards the spirit and the leaf's surrounding him shot forward. The spirit attempted to dodge the attack but it was impossible. It got caught up in it and damaged by the attack.

After several seconds of sustaining constant hits from the leaf's the spirit dropped on its knees. It looked towards the sky as the light blue circle appeared underneath it. It raised one of its arms towards the sky as the ground seemed to eat it.

The spirit vanished in mere seconds, the circle vanishing as the last signs of the spirit vanished from the world.

The mage turned towards his remaining opponent and grinned. "Just you…and me…" he said in a quiet voice as he moved his hands to the side and then slapped them together. "You should feel honored I use this on you after such a long battle, I've never fought someone like you before, it's a shame I need to end you." He said as he called out his attack **"Terra Clamare!"**

The roots began to glow and catch fire, it intensified with each second until the blond was completely engulfed in the red light. Finally, an explosion rocked the area throwing the blond away, crashing on the ground several feet away.

The mage looked towards his downed opponent and breathed heavily as he waited, looking for any life signs.

To his surprise the blond began to move, he slowly stood up and shook himself.

Looking up, Naruto coughed several times, spitting out blood. A grin appeared on his face, underneath his helmet.

"It will take more than that to finish me off…" he laughed wearily as the dark mage could not believe what he was seeing.

The blond moved forward, dragging his sword next to him, skipping several steps. Then, as he was half way through he dashed forward at amazing speed, something that the dark mage was not expecting to happen.

He jumped away at the last second, the knight slammed his sword in the ground using all his force. A crater was left in its wake, then the ground began to shatter in a straight line towards the dark mage, stopping several steps away from his location.

The blond looked up with a grin as he charged forward again. His opponent mirrored the grin as he too charged forward towards the blond.

They connected midway, the mage ducking under the knight's sword, the knight jumping over the mage's magical attack and over him. He spun in mid air and slashed the air behind him as he landed on the ground, a set of roots shot up protecting the mage's back, sinking back into the ground in mere seconds.

As they vanished another series of explosions shot forward towards the blond who dashed right through them, emerging on the other side with his armor completely burned and jumping in the air.

He channeled all his magic into the sword as it caught fire; the fire extending so much that it grew several feet. With wide eyes the dark mage prepared his defenses; several tree roots shot from the ground around the mage forming a dome, mere seconds before the attack collided with them.

A massive explosion encompassed the area, its effects could be heard from miles away.

Smoke covered the entire area making it impossible to see anything.

But as the smoke slowly cleared two figures could be seen standing in a devastated clearing. Both of them panting and looking weary.

The dark mage looked at the blond and the blond looked back at the dark mage, they knew they were both at their limits.

As he brought his hand up to his face the dark mage noticed the effects of his magic starting to appear. He took a few steps back and gave a small bow towards the blond, like the spirit had did towards him when it appeared.

Then, he sunk in the ground, vanishing from the blond's view.

The knight however stood his ground for several minutes, analyzing the area around him, trying to figure out where the mage had vanished. After minutes of waiting and nothing happening he came to the conclusion that the man had retreated.

A sigh escaped his lips, he didn't think he could push himself further than that.

Crashing to the ground on his knees he looked up at the sky as the rain poured down on him. How he was able to fight off such an opponent he will never know.

He laughed however, while he realized that he had been using way too much magic in his attacks, something he had been berating Wendy not to do during their training, it had helped him overcome this foe.

Shaking his head he stood back up and looked towards Magnolia's direction. He began to slowly limp away, thinking which the nearest town was so he could sleep a little.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

Heavy steps echoed in the rain, the metal boots echoed in the empty streets. The knight sighed as he walked through the empty streets, going back to his guild. He really started hating the rain, he used to enjoy it, it was peaceful, relaxing, but now as he was, soaking wet, he just hated it and just wanted to get home, wash and sleep.

His mission had been a success, the first A-rank mission that went without any problem even though minor complications had appeared. Actually, they weren't that minor. If anyone were to look at him they would wonder through what burning cauldron he had passed. His armor was battered, while the burn had vanished – as it seemed like the armor repaired itself by using his magic – the signs of the long battle he had with the dark mage were still present.

At least he managed to rest a bit before returning, he was surprised how fast his magic returned to him after a nights rest. It was like back when he had his tenant, his wounds healed at a fast pace, not as fast as in the past however, and his magic reserves refilled faster than he would have thought.

Looking up at the sky he paused for a second as he noticed the clouds moving in a rather strange formation. He shrugged it off however; these kinds of phenomenons happened rather often in different parts of the world, why wouldn't it happen here too?

As he approached the guild he took notice of a series of splashes coming towards him. Looking back he noticed Wendy running towards the guild with a distressed look on her face. Behind her Charle flew, but something was off, the look on the felines cat said something else.

"Naruto!" the girl called as he turned to face her. "Problem!" she shouted desperately.

As he was about to answer he felt something pierce him, he felt no pain, he felt as if his power was being forced out of his body through a series of needle. Then, he noticed that all around him buildings started to vanish. He vaguely heard Wendy cry out his name.

Then he looked down at his hands and saw them vanish. His eyes widened in shock as he felt his power surge in great quantities. The knight fell to his knees as he shouted to the heavens, his magic exploding from his body and creating a frightening whirlwind.

It didn't last long, like the building around him and the guild, it vanished. And so did he.

Wendy crashed to her knees as everything around her turned into a wasteland, an uninhabited wasteland. Everything she knew had vanished, the man that she considered family, an elder brother, had vanished before her with the entire town and guild.

Tears started dropping from her eyes until she heard something rustling behind her. With a yelp she turned around and frightfully watched as a mound of ground grew bigger and bigger until a person popped out of it.

Natsu blinked as he started at the young girl. "Wendy?" He questioned. Looking around he could not recognize the place. "Where are we?" he questioned once more pulling his body out of the ground and trying to figure out what this place was.

As Wendy tried to explain to the boy what happened it only looked like Natsu did not believe a single word of what she was saying. He had been sleeping while the events occurred around him and hearing about a hole in the sky sucking up everything; that was not something you could easily believe.

"Help?" a weary voice resonated around them as another hand shot up from the ground, a gauntlet to be more precise.

Her heart skipped a beat as she jumped towards the hand and started digging the ground, Natsu followed suit as he recognized the gauntlet. In a matter of seconds the knight's head was visible and with great effort they managed to pull him out of the ground.

The knight gasped for air and coughed several times. "That hurt like hell!" he shouted as Wendy looked back relieved and happy at the same time. Then she thought a bit about what happened.

"Naruto …" she said drawing the blond's attention "…are you perhaps…a dragonslayer?" she questioned as Naruto looked towards her quizzically. She already knew the answer to that, why would she ask it again?

He shook his head. "No Wendy, I'm not, why do you ask?"

"Everything around us vanished! The town was sucked into the sky but only we are left here, me and Natsu are dragonslayers and I thought that if you are too then that would explain why you are still here…" her voice died out slowly as she looked towards the ground.

As he was about to reply Charle made her presence known. "It is true that you as dragonslayers remained, I do not know why he remained however and was not sucked as well with everyone else." She stated looking towards the blond knight who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do explain…" the blond said as he stood up and dusted his armor.

As Charle began to explain what happened, that the town and everyone had been sucked by the anima into Edolas and only the dragonslayers remained, or should have remained, due to their special magical powers, the group grew different emotions. While Naruto was managing to hold his composure, wanting to hear everything, Natsu could not.

He demanded to know where everyone had disappeared to. Wendy tried to stop him from harming the feline, she tried to ask the feline what she meant by everything she had said. It was then that Happy had appeared, frantically calling that the town had vanished. It was then that Charle revealed that she was from Edolas, that Happy was from the same place as her.

At that reveal they heard a sword being unsheathed and as they looked towards the blond they saw him pointing it towards the feline as a dark look could be seen through his helmet.

"If that is so…then you know where everyone is." He growled out as Wendy moved in front of him trying to calm him down, to reason with him. "You must know…why the town has disappeared too." He stated with narrowed eyes as the cat nodded with a sad look on its face.

"It vanished because of us…" she stated looking down "…because of me and the male cat."

The grip on his sword strengthened as he heard that, were it not for Wendy holding him back by standing in front of him, pushing her small body against him, he would have lashed out on the cat with his sword. He chose to growl dangerously however, the feline knew that the only reasons she still stood was because Wendy was keeping the knight at bay.

"Please calm down Naruto!" Wendy shouted as she looked up at the blond.

He continued to growl before he closed his eyes and lowered his sword. Taking a deep breath he looked down at the girl and placed his free hand on her head, giving her a small nod. Naruto never opened his eyes however as the girl turned towards Charle, asking for more information.

Charle began to explain as much as she could about their mission and about Edolas, she explained that their friends are there.

"Then let's go there!" Natsu shouted with a grin as Wendy and the cats looked at him shocked.

"What? Are you crazy?" Charle questioned as Naruto intervened.

"I agree with Natsu, if our friends are there then we are going there to save them." He said seriously as he looked towards the sky.

"If we are going back we will need disguises, not only that but I don't know how we can carry you." She said turning towards the blond. "We need to fly through to reach the other side." The cat said while looking towards the sky, where the clouds still formed a hole.

Naruto hummed a tune as he took a step back and his magic erupted around him. In mere seconds his reaper form emerged from the whirlwind, it stared down towards the cat sending a shiver down its spine. _"I think I can manage."_ He said in a ghostly voice as a pair of skeletal wings sprung from his back making everyone take a step back in surprise. _"Its not called 'Reaper' for nothing." _He stated.

"Right…" Charle shook herself out of her stupor as she flew towards Wendy and grabbed her by the clothes and flew off, closely followed by Natsu with Happy and Naruto.

They flew with great speed towards the sky, never noticing the blond lagging behind. As they pushed through the barrier and vanished from his sight he used all his strength to move faster, finally managing to push through as well.

He felt different sensations as he entered the new world, he was amazed at what he was seeing, at how different the landscape was and then he was surprised that he could no longer feel his powers. With a loud curse he noticed that his reaper form had vanished and that he was falling towards the ground.

The knight fell through several tree branches, ripping them, until he finally landed on the ground with a loud thud. He groaned, his back hurt now; he had always known that the armor was not the best when it came to falling down, it didn't lessen the damage from the impact and it sure as hell didn't make it easier for him to get up after falling from such height.

A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled to the side, pushing himself up.

He looked around; he was at the edge of a forest and at the edge of the world from what it seemed. As he looked down into the ravine all he could see was the sky. A shiver went down his spine as he took a step back and turned around.

The knight wondered where the dragonslayers and the two cats had landed. He had lagged behind for quite some time it seemed, maybe he didn't even fall in the same place.

"Great…lost in a parallel world…" he mumbled to himself as he kept looking around, trying to spot anything that might give him a clue as to where he was or where he could go.

There was nothing in sight however.

With no other choice he began walking away, into the forest, in hopes of finding a town or someone.

As he walked he began to ponder on what he felt. As soon as he entered this world it felt as if his powers were slowly vanishing from him, he felt as if he was loosing all that magic that constantly moved inside of him, like the flame was dying.

He wanted to try and use his reaper form again, but as he tried to gather enough magic to create the spell it felt as if his magic would instantly vanish. That scared him. He might hate his magic, he might hate everything it had done to him, but he had gotten used to it and the thought of loosing it now scared him.

The mage walked for what seemed like hours, he had long since left the forest and had been wandering aimlessly through a field, climbing cliffs and dodging different types of animals; each one of them stranger than the other. Who would have thought that a small frog could morph into a giant one when provoked?

It wouldn't have been that bad if he didn't feel like he was going to collapse from dehydration. Trying to send his armor into the pocket dimension had some unexpected results. While he could not send his entire armor, his helmet could no longer be recalled. It was like he had lost connection with the small dimension and that the pathway towards it was closed.

He hoped that it wasn't a permanent thing.

Despite the fact that he had lost his helmet he was glad that he could breathe easily now. It seemed like even the magic contained in his armor was slowly vanishing, it felt like he was walking in the same armor he used to patrol the roads of his old home during his Guardsman days.

He really hated patrolling those roads during the summertime.

His train of thoughts came to a halt as he noticed a small lake in the distance. Relief filled him as he moved faster towards the lake, he could use a drink.

It didn't take long for him to reach it and as soon as he was next to it he dropped on his knees and prepared to take a sip from the lake.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He heard someone call out and instantly tensed. "This lake is not only filled with man eating animals but it's contaminated with their poison. One sip and you won't be able to move for the next five weeks….if you're lucky."

The blond's eyes widened as he jumped back and not a moment to soon. A few seconds later a large open maw sprung from the water where he used to be, slapping itself shut as if it had tried to catch its prey. It then submerged, vanishing to the depths of the lake once more.

"See?" the voice questioned as he heard footsteps approaching.

The knight nodded, turning his gaze towards the approaching person, wanting to thank him. As he opened his mouth no words came out, he stood rooted in shock, looking at who the newcomer was.

The man before him looked at him in shock as well, they stared at each other not knowing what to say until the newcomer shook his head and spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I see the mad king succeeded in the end." He said as he took out a flask and threw it towards the blond who caught it with ease. "Judging by the fact that you wanted to drink water from that lake you must be really thirsty…so drink." He said.

Naruto did as he was told, he opened up the flask and drank while studying the man before him. Or more like, studying himself.

The newcomer was none other than him. Or at least he had his face and the majority of his features. His counterpart wore ragged old clothes that made him look like a sort of hermit, or recluse. His blond hair stood up as his younger self used to keep it, two locks covered the sides of his head, his hair kept in place by a red bandana. On his cheeks three whisker marks could be seen, this made the knight almost choke on his drink. He hadn't seen those in years.

Looking at his counterpart he also noticed the tired look in his eyes, the little emotions they gave out. It looked like he was staring at the husk of a man, one that had given up on trying anything years ago. One that did not care anymore what happened to him.

As he finished drinking he closed the flask and threw it back to the newcomer. "Thanks." He said as the man before him gave a small nod and turned around, leaving.

This surprised the blond, he had expected the man to do something; ask questions, laugh that he had been given poison to drink, attack him…anything. He had grown so used with being attacked by something that this had taken him by surprise.

"Wait!" he called out as the man stopped and turned to look at him with a questionable look in his eyes.

Naruto tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. He wanted to ask where his friends were but at the same time he wanted to ask his counterpart different questions, what had happened to him, what was going on in this world, why he could feel his magic vanishing.

The man waited for the blond to say something, he saw the conflicted look in his eyes, he saw how he was trying to find something to say. But he didn't bother. He grew tire of waiting and turned around once more, leaving.

"Hey wait!" the blond shouted as he remembered something that the one before him had said. "What did you mean by _the mad king succeeded_?" he questioned as once more Edo-Naruto stopped.

He looked back towards his earthland counterpart and replied. "He succeeded in bringing large amounts of magic to Edolas…in crystallizing mages from Earthland."

Naruto looked at him not understanding what he said, or at least not completely.

Seeing the confused look the man elaborated. "It means he turned a lot of mages…" he shook his head as he corrected himself "…people into one or more lacrima's and brought them here." He replied taking the blond by surprised.

"But, why?" he questioned as his counterpart raised an eyebrow as if the answer to the question was so simple.

"To extract their magic and give more to Edolas…or in other words, kill them and make sure their magic becomes part of this world." The blond replied making Naruto's eyes widen in horror.

The knight stood rooted in place, his friends, his family was in danger. "Where is this king?" he shouted, he needed to find his friends and free them.

"So you can save your people?" his counterpart questioned as the blond nodded with determination. The _sage_ looked at him, as if studying him and then turned around leaving. "Forget it, you can't save them." He replied making the blond freeze.

By the time he managed to regain his senses he realized that his counterpart nearly vanished in the horizon. The knight grit his teeth as he ran forward, towards his Edolas version, shouting towards him.

"What do you mean I can't save them?" he cried out, yet the blond in front of him said nothing as he continued walking away, ignoring him completely.

This infuriated the mage as he moved straight up to his counterpart, walking side by side and glaring at him. "Answer me!" he demanded, time was of the essence here. Who knows how long he had been wasting his time in the forest, in the fields, trying to find someone or some sort of civilization.

But once more the man said nothing and just continued walking away. With narrowed eyes the mange moved in front of the man and stopped, looking towards him. "Why won't you answer me?" he questioned through his teeth.

Now the man stopped, he looked at the mage before him with a raised eyebrow. "Why should I bother? They are not my concern." He answered as he placed his hand on the mage's shoulder and pushed him away.

Naruto was speechless, he watched as the man moved by him once more. He clenched his fists as he shouted once more. "They are my family, I can't just leave them there! You have to help me!" he shouted.

The man stopped once more, he looked back with a tired look and replied. "It's not my problem." And turned around, walking away for the third time.

He stood rooted in place, unable to comprehend what he had just heard. His own counterpart was unwilling to help him, was so uninterested in his cry for help, for even sharing a little bit of information.

The knight felt like the world was going to come crashing down on him. He was stuck in a world with no way of knowing where to go, who he could trust or what he could do to save his friends and get out of here and the only person that could help him, the only one that would be so obvious in helping him, was unwilling to do so.

"Why?" he questioned yet the man didn't seem to hear, with each step he took his form would slowly vanish in the distance. "Why would you turn a blind eye like that?" he shouted as the man continued walking. "Why would you not help a person in need? What is wrong with you?" he shouted.

The tired _sage_ stopped for a second as he thought about the questions. He then shook his head and continued walking, leaving the blond with a short reply. "Because each time I help someone I end up killing them."

Now Naruto had no idea how to reply to that, the answer left him confused. What did he mean by that? To him it didn't matter that much, he just wanted to know the location of the lacrima in which his friends were encased. And yet, he found himself walking in the man's shadow, not asking anymore questions.

Did he want to learn more of the man? Or did he hope that the man would somehow lead him to the place where his friends were kept?

He wasn't sure of the answer, he wasn't sure why he stayed silent as they kept on walking. Sparing a glance towards the sky he could see the sun was right on top of them now.

"Why are you following me?" he heard the man question as his attention was brought back towards him.

As if returning the favor he did not reply, merely opting to stay quiet and watch his counterpart. It looked as if the _sage_ sighed as he turned around and continued walking, not even bothered by the fact that his counterpart was following his every move, sticking to his shadow.

It didn't take long until they reached a cave, the mage watched in wonder as his counterpart entered the cave and vanished inside. He did not wait any longer and ran forward, entering the cave as well.

As soon as he entered light from the depths of the cave illuminated his path. He saw the _sage_ sitting next to a fire, at the very end, looking towards it in silence. As he studied the place he came to realize that this was where the man lived. This shocked him as he hadn't expected his counterpart to live in such conditions.

Yet, as he stared at the man's robes he knew that this was the reality.

Naruto walked inside, stopping next to the fireplace, opposite of the man. Once more the blond looked around, studying the place. Books littered all around, a makeshift bed behind the man, some broken weapons which reminded him of the old world, pictures and frames scattered around the place. And then an armor grabbed his attention, a samurai armor that he was all too familiar with.

He glanced towards his counterpart and thought about it, but dismissed it. There was no way they were related, the spirit had more life in it than his counterpart.

Then, as he looked back at the armor he noticed one more standing next to it. He studied it with great interest; it looked like a knight's armor, decorated with various patterns of grey and red and a sigil adorning the chest plate.

"I see you're studying that old relic." The man suddenly said, not looking up from the fireplace. "I used to wear it once."

Naruto looked back and forth between the _sage_ and the armor until he finally replied. "Once?" he questioned as the man motioned for the knight to sit down in front of him.

He did as he was told and sat down next to the fire, opposite of the man. He watched as he grabbed a stick and tampered a little with the fire, making sure that it wouldn't die out anytime soon.

Then he placed the stick on the ground next to him and spared a glance towards the blond. "I used to be part of the army, a great commander." He started "But even before that, I used to be a mage."

This drew the blond's attention as he leaned in slightly. "You see, when I was young I was part of a guild called Fairy Tail." His eyes widened, it seemed like in Edolas there was a counterpart to his guild as well.

The knight said nothing however as he allowed the man to continue. "Back then magic still existed in Edolas, even if it was a little bit. It was dying fast that's for sure and the King tried his best to save the little that was left."

A far away look appeared in the _sage's_ eyes as he looked towards the fire in silence for several minutes. "He banned guilds and mages, saying that they were draining the little supply of magic we still had. Those that did not want to close doors were labeled as dark guilds and chased to the ends of the world. When caught…they were dealt with." He whispered the last part making Naruto's eyes widen in shock.

The thought that mages had been labeled as dark mages even if they worked in the name of good, even if they had done nothing wrong other than being able to use magic. That was frightening, he couldn't imagine living peacefully in a world like this and as this thought passed his mind he began to wonder if this was the reason his counterpart looked so tired, looked like he had given up on everything.

Once more he didn't question, opting to listen to the man as he continued his story. "Fairy Tail never closed down, it suffered because of that. We lost members, we lost our guild master…" he shook his head as he took a deep breath. "…and then I couldn't take it anymore when I thought I would loose the thing most dear to me…so I left, made a deal with the King and joined the army."

The knight's eyes widened as he continued to listen. "The deal was simple, I'd help clear out all the remaining dark guilds but he wouldn't touch Fairy Tail."

"It worked…for a few years…then magic completely vanished from the land." A small dry chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head once more. "And then, somewhere along the road, the deal fell and I … I was the idiot that accepted it."

He shook his head as he stared at the fire for minutes, not saying anything more. Then the blond grew tired of waiting for him. "And then what happened?" he questioned as the man continued to stare at the fire.

Finally, after several long minutes of waiting, he looked up at him and asked. "Would you like to see where your friends are?"

Naruto blinked at the question. "What do you mean?" he asked back as the one before him repeated his question.

"Would you like to see where your friends are?" he asked once more, the tone in his voice clearly saying that he wouldn't ask a third time.

He wanted to see where his friends were, he wanted to save them, but at the same time the man's story was something he wished to hear to the end. The knight nodded as he stood up and looked towards his counterpart, he would eventually hear the end of the story, he was sure of that. If he could see where his friends were right now he'd be able to devise a plan to rescue them.

With a nod of his own the _sage_ stood up and began walking towards the cave's exit with his Earthland counterpart behind him.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

The knight crouched down as he stared at the massive lacrima in the middle of the town square. He and his counterpart stood on top of a house overlooking the town square below them, they were hidden from view and the archers on nearby towers had been dealt with.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing however. As they got closer to the city he could see the lacrima in the distance but he wasn't sure that what he was seeing was the real deal nor did he believe that it was that big.

Seeing it up close like this, it was something else.

The commotion from the street suddenly drew his attention as he looked down. He watched people cheering in the streets as they gazed upon the massive crystal. Then he saw the King make an appearance, raise his hands up as the people cheered even louder and then, finally, spoke up to the people.

"Children of Edolas!" he called out as the place quieted down, everyone listening to their King. "My Holy country Edolas has created ten years worth of magical power by anima." The man called out as Naruto listened carefully to his every words.

He could feel the man behind him tensing, his anger spiking up for unknown reasons. Whispers of hatred and death came from the _sage_ as he too stared down in the square.

"Let us all sing and smile together…and share in this happiness!" the old King cried out as people began to cheer, to sing and praise their king and country.

"Edola's people have a right to share this magical power!" he shouted, a look of complete insanity in his eyes. The blond knight tuned him out as he looked around, as people began to cheer more and more, then his eyes widened as he saw his friends. He could easily distinguish Natsu and Wendy in the crowd.

His eyes narrowed as he saw Natsu ready to charge in only to have Lucy stop him. Looking back towards the King he could see why. His heart stopped for a second as he saw the man hit the lacrima, making a small piece crack and drop from it.

"Stay your hand." The _sage _commanded as he firmly grabbed the blond's arm, his hand was already on his sword which was almost unsheathed.

"How can I do that when he killed someone? That could be one of my friends he killed!" the blond shouted in fury, the chants and cheers of the people in the streets made it almost impossible for him to hear himself shout.

"There is a time for everything, but now is not the time to do what you'd wish." His words echoed around him, danced in his mind, somewhat calming him and making his push the sword back into its hilt.

He watched as his friends moved away from the crowd, vanishing in a nearby alleyway. Standing up he turned around to follow them only to have his counterpart step in front of him and stop him from doing so.

The blond narrowed his eyes at that. "Move." He ordered, yet the _sage_ merely shook his head as he pointed back towards the square.

Once more his eyes widened as he saw Erza approaching the King and whispering something into his ear. Yet this Erza was different, she didn't have the same hair style as the girl he had known for the past months

"Erza Knightwalker, member of the army, one of its leaders and a … hunter …" Edolas Naruto said, his counterpart took notice of the long pause at the end and wondered why he had done that. "They most likely know of your friends and will go to capture them."

Naruto's eyes widened at that and watched as Edolas Erza ordered soldiers to move out and followed them behind with great haste, going towards the same direction his friends had went.

"Don't try going…you will only get captured yourself and you wouldn't be able to help anyone after that." The _sage_ said drawing the blond's attention.

"Besides, you have no idea where to go…" he whispered as he turned around and began leaving.

By now Naruto knew that his counterpart would not tell him the location, he knew that begging or asking wouldn't do him much good and just running down in the street trying to find Erza was out of the question. From what his counterpart had told him and from the way they snuck into the city and dealt with any guard before they could spot them, it was clear that he didn't have the best of reputations anymore.

Posing as his counterpart would not make things smoother; it would only make them worse.

He had no choice this time; he followed his counterpart and prayed that his friends wouldn't get captured so easily, that they would be able to avoid this world's Erza.

"Before you go in that place you need to know a few more things…so that you won't make the same mistake I made." Edolas Naruto stated drawing the knight's attention.

"What do you mean?" he questioned curiously.

His counterpart jumped down from the building; a few seconds later the knight joined him down on the street. Sparing a glance towards the blond he replied.

"The King has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, if he has no chance in using them then that will be a good thing…" he paused as he turned around and began walking away.

"…but if he uses them…you'd best be prepared for the worst." He whispered, the blond barely hearing what he had said.


End file.
